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Connect! Unite! Act! 'Battlefield Earth' is a Republican world where everything costs up to 30% more [1]
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Date: 2023-01-21
Republicans have just introduced legislation that calls for the abolition of the IRS and the creation of a national sales tax. This national sales tax could result in up to 30% or more added to the price of every single thing you buy, whether it’s a candy bar, a sweater, or a box of diapers.
Such a radical policy first came from a large-scale push by the organization that ties all of this together. If you guessed the Church of Scientology, you are correct!
In the beginning, the IRS refused to recognize the Church of Scientology as a legal church, requiring the organization pay taxes and show its books.
The fight began in 1952, when under the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration, the government refused to accept that Scientology was anything but a secular corporation. The government and the Church of Scientology fought back and forth for decades; the battle involved conspiracies, people who invaded offices and took documents, and a hard fight to protect their “church” from taxation on its already-massive revenue. By the 1990s, the Church of Scientology was calling for the IRS to be disbanded entirely and a national retail sales tax be implemented—because if they couldn’t avoid taxes, then everyone in the country should pay.
One church spokesman told National Journal's Paul Starobin, "We thought, If this [discrimination] is happening to us, there must be a lot of people to whom this is happening.' ... How could some positive changes be made?" Since nearly every state has a sales tax, it would be a simple matter to get them to collect a federal NRST, rendering the IRS instantly superfluous, a ripe target for abolition.”
Which brings us to now, and Kevin McCarthy’s gavel-getting deal with far-right House Republicans. As the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy writes:
[T]o win over enough support from his own party to become Speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy agreed to hold a vote during this Congress on the “Fair Tax,” a plan devised years ago by the Church of Scientology to abolish the IRS and the entire federal tax system and replace it with a national sales tax that would be administered by the states.
Let’s be really blunt: This latest #RepublicanTaxBomb is maybe a bigger bomb than even Battlefield Earth, because, unlike Battlefield Earth, if they were to get their way, you can’t avoid a tax like you can dodge a bad movie. Need to buy menstrual products? How about over-the-counter medications or food? Pay 30% more, up front. Going out to eat also just became more expensive.
x Wow. The new House Republican tax bill would institute a national sales tax.
This #RepublicanTaxBomb would be added onto EVERYTHING we buy.
And since the bill abolishes corporate income taxes, individual income taxes, and the estate tax, it's a tax CUT for the wealthy.
Shame. — Americans For Tax Fairness (@4TaxFairness) January 19, 2023
And because the Republicans haven’t thought that far ahead, beyond the fact it would brutally underfund the government, resulting in likely cuts, the misnomered “Fair Tax” would also send tens of thousands of people to the unemployment line, impacting CPAs, employees of national tax preparation chains like H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt, and myriad government employees.
Don’t worry, it gets even better. To go along with all of this damage, the Republicans have no plan at all to identify anyone using their income to fund illegal enterprises or to invest in illegal activities, because, again, there would be no IRS.
What a wonderful time this would be to be a billionaire, and what a terrible time to be someone who wants to buy a loaf of bread and Tylenol!
x The #RepublicanTaxBomb DEFUNDS Social Security and Medicare.
And it adds a 30% sales tax to EVERYTHING we buy.
How are seniors and people with disabilities supposed to afford food, medicine, and shelter? — Social Security Works (@SSWorks) January 19, 2023
That a small group of Republicans demanded a floor vote on this ridiculous plan before they would help McCarthy get his precious gavel—and are on track to get that vote—is troubling. As a result, it is on us, all of us, to remind our friends exactly what Republicans want for America: a country that is 30% more expensive for people like us, and cheaper for people who can hide their incomes.
x Republicans are preparing to introduce legislation that would add a 30% sales tax on EVERYTHING you buy. That's the MAGA agenda: Cut taxes for the ultrarich and stick the middle class with the bill. #RepublicanTaxBomb — CAP Action (@CAPAction) January 19, 2023
The good news: Democrats hold the Senate, and President Joe Biden will of course never sign off on such ridiculous and dangerous legislation. It is also very unlikely that these extremist Republicans could get the votes within their oh-so-slim majority.
RELATED STORY: The 'Fair Tax' is anything but, and even too out there for most of the GOP
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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/21/2148224/-Connect-Unite-Act-Battlefield-Earth-is-a-Republican-world-where-everything-costs-up-to-30-more
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