Congressman Steve King says it’s time to get rid of the federal income tax, and collect a national sales tax instead. King says about 80 members of Congress support the move, which he says will “fix all our economic problems.” King says Congress could “untax the poor” and a lot of people who aren’t paying taxes now would have to pay a sales tax when they purchase goods and services. King cites drug dealers, prostitutes, tourists and illegal immigrants as examples. Critics of a national sales tax say Americans would spend less and the move would harm the U.S. economy which depends heavily on retail sales. King disputes that. King says the price of everything is inflated an average of 22 percent to cover the taxes businesses must pay. He says that makes a national sales tax a “wash” and he says it’ll put more money in Americans’ pockets since they won’t be paying federal income taxes anymore. King doesn’t expect the idea to become reality this year, but he says it’ll be a “live round” in 2005. King calls a national sales tax a “fair tax” because it would tax personal consumption. He says it would be a major means of fixing Social Security which today is financed by a payroll tax. And for the poor, King envisions a rebate on any sales taxes paid to achieve his goal of “untaxing the poor.”
