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Bill: Elimination of Sales Tax on all essential goods.
Details
Submitted by[?]: Liberal Party of Rutania
Status[?]: defeated
Votes: This is an ordinary bill. It requires more yes votes than no votes. This bill will not pass any sooner than the deadline.
Voting deadline: November 2805
Description[?]:
| This bill recognizes three points: 1.) That Sales tax on essential goods only serves to make such goods more expensive for the less fortunate of Rutanian society. 2.) Sales tax on essential goods is immoral due to the fact that the government hinders the ability of its citizens to acquire these life sustaining goods. A state has no place in hindering access of its citizens to life sustaining goods. 3.) These reforms will not negatively effect the economy of the Commonwealth as there is a surplus of 35,866,366,712 RUT, and Sales tax on essential goods brings in 30,318,812,431 RUT in revenue. The elimination of this revenue would leave the budget with a still sizable surplus of 5.547.554281 RUT. This bill will: -Eliminate all Sales tax on essential, non-luxury goods. Taking the rate from 5% to 0%. |
Proposals
Article 1
Proposal[?] to change Sales tax on essential goods such as food and non-luxury clothing.
Old value:: 5
Current: 20
Proposed: 0
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 09:08:01, August 17, 2009 CET | From | Rutanian Heritage Party | To | Debating the Elimination of Sales Tax on all essential goods. |
| Message | We oppose this legislation, primarily because the RHP favours indirect taxation over direct taxation in all circumstances. The elimination of the current general sales tax will necessitate an increase in income tax or some other form of direct taxation, which are not only less efficient and involve more bureaucratic red-tape and burdensome paperwork for tax-payers, but are a disincentive for individuals to pursue better-paid jobs, undermining personal initiative and responsibility, and are almost always biased against the moderately wealthy. Aside from practical considerations, direct taxation on individual income presumes the federal government has moral authority to confiscate the fruits of one's labour to be used for services that are often ineffective and inefficient, and that many tax-payers do not use at all. All this having been said, we believe that most taxation and revenue-raising should take place at a local level, where governments are more accountable and responsible to the needs of the communities they represent. A federal income tax is far too problematic for far too many reasons to be a reasonable alternative to the excises currently in place. At the federal level, we advocate a system of minimal excises and tarrifs on imports - any welfare services and their funding can be left to local governments. |
| Date | 09:05:21, August 18, 2009 CET | From | Revolutionary Workers Party | To | Debating the Elimination of Sales Tax on all essential goods. |
| Message | We would suggest this is classic liberal wooly-thinking in its most blatant form, something which indeed masquerades itself as being somewhat 'progressive'. We would perhaps critically support, but this is a small part of a large issue both in Rutania and of course Terra as a whole: the question of WHY working class families cannot afford items. It also strikes us as odd that by using this motion as one singular Bill why the Liberals do not feel that luxury goods should not be lowered - as these are things that working class people should be able to afford also. The real question here is wealth distribution. - The Executive Committee. |
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Voting
| Vote | Seats | |||
| yes | Total Seats: 0 | |||
| no | Total Seats: 305 | |||
| abstain | Total Seats: 0 |
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