[CabSauce]

It shouldn't really need to be mentioned at this point, but sales taxes are extremely regressive. The burden is shouldered by people with lower incomes.

Edit - source: https://taxfoundation.org/taxedu/glossary/regressive-tax/

[panarky]

It should be obvious by now that the whole game is to shift cost and risk to the bottom 90% while shifting profit and wealth even further to loyalists among the top 0.1%.

Viewed through this lens, the whole program is remarkably internally consistent. Tariffs on imports, cuts to corporate taxes, capital gains taxes and estate taxes, indiscriminate across-the-board reductions of 50% or more to regulatory agencies, etc.

[Dig1t]

Aren’t tariffs just corporate taxes which are paid by big corps who import stuff built overseas?

At least when you incentivize stuff to get built here the money goes to union workers or at least stays within the US.

Also the regulatory cuts are sorely needed at this point. It took longer to get regulatory approval for the Starship rocket than it did to actually build the rocket (the biggest and most complicated rocket ever built).

[chrisco255]

You simply make basic necessities sales tax free. Fresh foods (non-processed), education materials and tuition, medical premiums, and the first $1K of housing per month, and problem solved. It's an easier tax to enforce and requires a smaller surveillance state. Instead of attempting to audit 350 million individuals the revenue dept can just focus on a couple million businesses. Instead of pouring over 15000 pages of write-offs and exemptions, it's a simple % of taxable revenue. The states that run on sales tax alone are more affordable than states that run off income tax. It's a superior tax in every way.

[legitster]

Sales tax is not regressive per se. It's just much less progressive than an income tax. Rich people still pay more overall since they spend more money.

An example of a regressive tax would be something like cigarette taxes - poor people would actually spend a larger share of their income since they are also more likely to smoke.

[CabSauce]

People with lower incomes do spend larger a portion of their money on things that incur sales tax.

Higher income people spend more of their money on investments and other assets.

[some-guy]

That is, unfortunately, the point.

[vunderba]

Additionally, in most countries, crimes that carry a monetary penalty are also highly regressive (such as traffic violations like speeding).

[Aunche]

This is a very unpopular opinion, but I believe ideally taxes in America should be more a lot more "regressive" like they are in Sweden. VATs are economically more efficient than income tax, and harder for corporations to avoid. Taxes are only actually regressive when the tax dollars don't go back into social services for the people, so that's something that would need to be prioritized first. I suspect that a major reason why the American government is so inefficient with spending is because there is no incentive for them to be, as the majority of tax dollars comes from a minority of high income workers.

https://www.economist.com/united-states/2017/11/23/american-...

[CabSauce]

I believe the most commonly supported tax strategy by economists is an income tax that goes negative below some threshold.

Personally, I'm open to VAT tax because it would be much easier to incorporate the disposal cost into goods and remove externalities (like pollution).

As you've said, it would be ideal to have strategies in place to lessen the burden on people with lower incomes.

This bill doesn't have any of those strategies or objectives.

[drivingmenuts]

It shouldn’t need to be said, and it probably won’t be. Even if it was said, most people probably wouldn’t get it.

I’m sure the libertarian’s are rejoicing right now. As is every VC.

[throw16180339]

That's a feature to the bill's sponsors.