Alan Grayson must defeat one far-right radio host before he returns to Congress.
Bold progressive Alan Grayson is currently campaigning to return to the House of Representatives. His opponent in the race is right-wing radio host Todd Long. Last year, Long appeared at a rally for the so-called “Fair Tax,” which would enact a 23 percent sales tax on all goods sold. Long said this tax would treat everybody “the same”:
LONG: Does anybody here think we should all be taxed the same? That we should all be treated the same under the tax code? We are all created equally by God we should have the same rights and benefits and privileges? […] The Fair Tax is brilliant!
Watch it (the relevant remarks are at 03:00):
I believe in fair taxation, but this scheme is NOT it. First of all, sales tax should be levied on those who purchase, not on everyone. As the chart shows, a 23% sales tax on everything will benefit the wealthy to the detriment of everyone earning under $200,000 annually.
Here is a different scheme for FAIR taxation: First, tax the PROFITS of all corporations and businesses equally at 50%, not individuals. If an enterprise makes $1,000 profit in a quarter, it owes $500 to the federal government; if a business makes a profit of $2 billion, it owes $1 billion to the government. Of course, one must eliminate all “off shore” money laundering, as well as all corporate subsidies and tax loopholes and refunds. If this taxation were done, America could not only pay off the deficit but fund all the social programs it needs.
State government could then tax corporate profits AFTER federal taxes at a rate of 20% on each enterprise, and city/county could tax the remaining profits at 5%.
With income tax, everyone who earns income, from the burger flipper at minimum wage to the billionaire bankster, would pay 10% on all income from every source to the federal government, 5% to state government, and 2% to city or county. No refunds or deductions would be allowed.
This would force the wealthy to pay a FAIR share.