Quote:
Originally Posted by bkcunningham1
...."The very efficiency of the VAT means that it throws off huge amounts of revenue that politicians eagerly spend. The VAT thus becomes an engine of even greater public spending....It is precisely this revenue-generating ability that makes the VAT so appealing to liberal intellectuals..."
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As I've said before, I'd categorize myself as a fiscal conservative with liberal leanings on social issues.
I would support a VAT tax if it was enacted with some deep and dramatic simultaneous spending cuts. The objective would be to reduce or eliminate the annual deficit and ultimately begin to pay down the national debt with both reduced spending and increased revenue. Half a loaf, one way or the other, would be ineffective. Half a loaf, if it was only the VAT tax portion, would be an unmitigated disaster.
But if the VAT was to be what the WSJ article describes, I would be vociferously against its enactment.