VALUE ADDED TAXES

I keep hearing about VATs, value added taxes, It's a sales tax, plain and simple. Of course, it can be formatted in any way the government wants, but it still boils down to a sales tax. VATs are fine as far as they go, but make no mistake, they fall harder on the poor then they do on the rich. This is an argument I've had many times with my cousin. Here's why I say it hurts the poor and not the rich. When you have to pay a tax on the necessities of life, you're taxing every nickel the poor earn. When you tax the necessities of life, you're taxing only a small part of the earnings of the rich. Now, I know this is hard for the rich to wrap their minds around, but a poor man has to spend all his income on food, clothing, shelter and transportation. There's precious little left for the niceties of life. So basically everything is taxed. There's no money left over for savings and investments. But the rich man pays taxes only on what he spends. What he saves or uses to invest with, goes untaxed. That's a big advantage for the wealthy. Now I understand all the arguments about the rich mans investments and savings creates jobs for everyone, but the fact remains that they are not both being treated equally. Any way you slice it, the poor man comes out with the short end of the stick. It's not that the poor want to be treated better than the rich man, just the same. That's why the income tax is fairer for the poor man. And I know how unpopular the income tax is. It's about as welcome as the gentleman who passes gas loudly at the prayer service. It would make everyone wish he had stayed home. But I was there, and it happened and that's that.