wm – the flat tax concept sounds good in theory, but in practice it actually shifts the burden substantially to the lower and middle tax brackets. this is why people whio are in favor of it tend to be the richest already, or are at a point in their lives where their need to spend is greatly reduced.

for example imagine two people with incomes of $200K and $40K respectively. say that each of these people spends comparable amounts on everyday items like food, utilities, cell phones, health care costs, etc. by “simplifying” everything to a flat tax model, the person making $40K is effectively being taxed at a rate 5 TIMES HIGHER than the person with the $200K incme (who, incidentally, can afford the additional tax rate much more easily anyway). the specious argument will be made that the more affluent will “do their share” by spending more, and consequently paying a greater tax burden. that may be true, but only to a very limited point.

elle – the way that the business owners will try to get that revenue from you will either be by raising prices (and running the risk of losing sales to cometitors) or by increasing their productivity to keep the relative costs low (not exactly a bad practice). in any case, YOU get to make the choice whether to spend or not.