“Most of the energy of political work is devoted to correcting the effects of mismanagement of government”

Milton Friedman

The Value Added Tax (VAT):

Indirect tax on the domestic consumption of goods and services, except those that are zero-rated (such as food and essential drugs) or are otherwise exempt (such as exports). It is levied at each stage in the chain of production and distribution from raw materials to the final sale based on the value (price) added at each stage. It is not a cost to the producer or the distribution chain members, and whereas its full brunt is borne by the end consumer, it avoids the double taxation (tax on tax) of a direct sales tax. Introduced by the European Economic Community (now the European Union) in the 1970s.

Of course, the VAT will be levied by Washington in addition to, not in lieu of, existing federal taxes.

Via BMI:

According to Gregg, who was at one time Obama’s choice for Secretary of Commerce until he withdrew his name, it’s part of a philosophy that sees the private sector as “under-taxed.”

Their end goal with all this spending is not just short-term medicine for the ailing economy. Instead – to “fundamentally change” the American economy: Institute a value-added tax and implement the European social welfare model.

“They want to fill it with a value added tax,” Gregg continued. “That is the plan. They’re trying to run the government into the ditch so that the options will be so few and so Draconian and so inappropriate that the only choice that would be left would be to go down the European social welfare mode. Remember, every European country has an income tax, a sales tax, which is their VAT tax, and what they see is the United States only has an income tax. So they say, ‘Well, we can obviously take the European model. If we go down the European road of expanding our government dramatically,’ which is what they’re planning to do and what they’ve actually done with the health care bill specifically, ‘Then we can fill that gap without going down the European model of a VAT tax.’”

Another economy crushing idea from the elites in Washington.