Republicans Are Preparing To Hit Consumers With A Horrible New Tax

[CousinIT]

... the border adjustability tax... will cost American consumers at least a trillion dollars over the next ten years. Knowing how Washington politicians calculate these things, you can bet the amount will end up being considerably more. Prices for everyday items, such as socks, shoes and household appliances, will go up. So will tech devices like the iPad, not to mention automobiles and trucks. Gasoline? Millions of Americans will pay an additional 30 cents or more per gallon at the pump. Lower-income and struggling middle-class Americans will get hit the hardest.

Few people are even aware of what the Republicans are getting ready to hit them with. There has been virtually no debate or public discussion about this new, horrible tax, yet in one of those strange fits of collective, self-destructive behavior, numerous GOP lawmakers are ready to enact it.

Here’s how, in essence, this sneaky, anti-consumer tax works. Importers will no longer be allowed to deduct an item as a business expense. To simplify things, let's say a store imports a pair of sneakers for $40 and then sells them for $50, making a $10 profit on which it would owe taxes. Under the Republican plan, however, the retailer wouldn't be able to deduct the $40 it paid for the sneakers. In fact, it would owe taxes on the entire $50! And who, ultimately, pays this tax? You, the consumer, in the form of higher prices or fewer choices of where you can shop. Retailers and their customers will be hit.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveforbes/2017/01/11/omg-house-republicans-are-preparing-to-hit-consumers-with-a-horrible-new-tax-that-will-harm-trump-and-hurt-the-economy/#581c736b641e

[unblock]

1. worse, i can't see how this wouldn't lead to retaliatory measures

making it hard to export, and leading to plant closures and layoffs as a result.

why do republicans hate business so much?

[randome]

2. This is where I can't understand the opponents of free trade.

Yes, we should pass laws for strong incentives for American companies to hire and build in America. Other than that, the entire world is so interconnected now, it is impossible to prevent the free flow of goods and services across borders.

If Trump and the GOP think it's easy to force Mexico to build some sort of stupid wall, they are among the most naive of God's Creatures.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Treat your body like a machine. Your mind like a castle.[/center][/font][hr]

[Hoyt]

3. Isn't this is what so-called "progressives" wanted?

[JHB]

4. Is there any commentary available that ISN'T...

... by flat-tax promoter Steve Forbes?

The topic is worth reading up on, and I'd like to be able to tell what parts are Steverino's spin.

[superpatriotman]

5. Say bye bye to walmart and dollar stores

The true price of slave labor-produced goods will finally be revealed