People are using Flat Tax vs Fair Tax interchangeably. And as usual, our congenitally lazy media is happy to oblige any and all misunderstandings by virtue of not understanding it themselves. So here’s a few links that will help you have this annoying discussion with anyone, especially wingnuts who won’t understand any definition you give them until Fox News tells them what they think they understand.
I am only going to rough this in, for now. If you have good debunkers or definitions to add, please post them as a comment, and/or Tweet them to @shoq. If you have time for this now, just read this, and help stamp out moronic tax propaganda and gimmicks from the radical right.
Flat Tax vs. FairTax
Neither the flat tax nor the FairTax plans are radically new ideas. The U.S. implemented a flat income tax for a short time after the Civil War. Many states and countries use a flat tax today, but the specific plan for the FairTax is relatively new and dates back to the mid-1990s. Read more from Marshall Brain’s “How Things Work.”
Tax Definitions and Debunkers
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Definitions
- The Estate_tax (Wikipedia)
- The Estate (Inheritance Tax)
- Capital Gains Tax
- Value Added Tax (Wikipedia)
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Debunkers
- (Brief) The case for a flat tax — and the arguments against (Washington Post)
- Debunking Flat Tax Philosophy
- Rick Perry: The Ultra Rich Are Too Big to Tax (ThePeoplesView.com)
- Debunking the Fair Tax Myth (Daily Kos)
- Huckabee’s Magic FairTax (Ezra Klein)
- Neal Boortz’s Fair Tax Debunked (Money.cnn)
- VIDEO: Warren Buffett’s Statement to Congress on Estate Taxes
Demagoguing Those Flat and Fair Taxes
- Video: Fair Tax evangelist, Right wing talk show host Neal Boortz explains it (sort of).
- With 20% Flat-Tax Plan, Perry Eyes Distinction From GOP Field (PBS)
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