Tuesday, October 29, 2019

The Democratic plan for a 42% national sales tax

You can ruin your political career and immolate your party by imposing a ruinous new sales tax, a gargantuan income tax hike or a surtax on corporate income that would wreck thousands of businesses.

Supporters of Medicare for All, the huge, single-payer government health plan backed by Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and several other Democratic presidential candidates, say it's time to think big and move to a health plan that covers everyone.

That's about as much tax revenue as the government brings in now.

That's a reference to her 2% wealth tax on ultra-millionaires.

A 42% national sales tax would generate about $3 trillion in revenue.

A tax of that magnitude would be like 42% inflation, wrecking consumer budgets and the many companies that depend on them, from Walmart and Amazon to your local car dealer.

Sanders has at least suggested some possible ways to pay for it, including premiums paid by enrollees, a wealth tax on millionaires and income tax rates as high as 52%. Warren has been cagier, saying only that under her plan "Costs" would go down for middle-class families.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-democratic-plan-for-a-42-national-sales-tax-202549219.html

No comments: