Supporters for Sales Tax revenue structures often say, the wealthy buy more, thus a Sales Tax is more fair. I do not believe this. I have one real world example to consider. Two families are remodeling their kitchens. One family choses Viking appliances, the other Kenmore. Who will pay the most in Sales Taxes? The knee jerk reaction would be the Viking purchasers. More expensive appliances, more sales tax - right? Ummm, not necessarily. The Viking purchasers are also having their appliances installed. The Kenmore purchasers are installing their own to save money on the $125 per appliance installation charges. (To keep this simple, please exclude the refrigerator from your consideration & focus on the stove, oven, DW...) In Missouri, the Viking purchasers will pay ZERO sales tax on their appliances. The Kenmore purchasers will pay the applicable sales tax % on theirs. The Kenmore family will pay the most Sales Taxes. There is an exemption in MOs tax code. There are MANY different exemptions & twists & turns in MOs tax code. As recently as 2009, there were appliance retailers that did not know, or failed to notify consumers of these provisions. During my most recent appliance purchase, every retailer I contacted knew & confirmed the sales tax exemption for the purchase of an INSTALLED appliance. I was pleased to see/hear this. Bottom line - one cannot assume that just because someone is buying a more expensive product, they will pay more in sales taxes. The terminology that sales taxes are the Fair Tax, pushed by people such as Rex Sinquefield, is a misnomer. Sales Taxation results in a larger % of income being paid in sales taxes by the elderly, those on fixed incomes, lower & middle income classes. Regressive.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 14:58:36 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015