This is a fairly simplistic response to very thoughtful proposal made by Gov. Huckabee and Americans for Fair Taxation (www.fairtax.org).
First, this proposal is not regressive at all. The poor would receive a monthly "prebate" check which would effectively return to them the taxed amounts they spend for necessities like food, clothing and the basics ... the net result being that the poor would effectively pay no tax at all. (Which would be a better result than the current system under which the poor currently pay gas taxes and payroll taxes and have corporate taxes built into the prices they pay.)
Second, while the article emphasized over and over the size of the sales tax, no mention was made of (i) the fact that every wage earner would earn all of their paycheck (plus the additional 7.5% the employer pays in payroll taxes), (ii) the fact that prices would drop because gas taxes and corporate taxes would no longer be built in, and (iii) the fact that taxpayers (corporate and individual) would no longer need to spend the time and money each year preparing tax returns or making various plans to avoid or reduce taxes.
It is a shame that the authors of this article did not take more time to truly understand the proposal before attacking Governor Huckabee for a truly refreshing idea to simplify the tax code and build a system that encourages hard work and saving rather than penalizes it.
