ARE YOU READY FOR A NATIONAL SALES TAX?

To paraphrase Ronald Regan, "There is nothing so permanent as a temporary tax."

(Washington Post) -- The Washington Post is reporting that "with budget deficits soaring and President Obama pushing a trillion-dollar-plus expansion of health coverage, some Washington policymakers are taking a fresh look at a money-making idea long considered politically taboo: a national sales tax."

According to the Post story, the "value-added tax, or VAT," has advocates that say it could "generate the kind of money the nation will need to avert fiscal calamity." A key Senate leader, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), said in an interview: "I think a VAT and a high-end income tax have got to be on the table."

According to the story, "a VAT is a tax on the transfer of goods and services that ultimately is borne by the consumer. Highly visible, it would increase the cost of just about everything, from a carton of eggs to a visit with a lawyer. ... Because producers, wholesalers and retailers are each required to record their transactions and pay a portion of the VAT, the tax is hard to dodge. It punishes spending rather than savings, which the administration hopes to encourage."

Read the story at <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2009/05/26/AR2009052602909_pf.html>