Subject: Tax Reform Comment: TAX REFORM A national tax reform plan that I believe can be done economically as well as politically: Give the United States citizens a choice between the existing individual incodme tax system and a new national retail sales tax/value added tax. Here is the plan: 1. Enact a value added/sales tax system for the Nation--while keeping the existing income tax code in place with the following changes: a. Discontinue the withholding and estimated tax payment requirements (the new value added/sales tax would replace them). b. Allow the individual taxpayer to choose whether they want to file under the existing income tax system by the April 15 deadline and get a refund if the value added/sales tax would exceed their tax liability under the current income tax system--akin to the deduction now allowed on federal returns for state sales tax. c. Or, if the individual taxpayer determines they would be better off paying under the value added/sales tax system, then they would simply not file a tax return under the existing income tax code and of course no refund would be forthcoming and the value added/sales tax would be their tax. |