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Congress to Revisit Virtual Goods Taxation
News.com has the word that congress is set to re-visit taxing virtual goods, a concept they shelved a while back in order to consider the matter more fully. That's given the Congress' Joint Economic Committee time to come to a decision about what exactly the value of virtual goods means for players and game-makers. An economist with the group told CNet to expect their report sometime next month. "What that report will say is unknown, as the committee has kept entirely quiet about its thoughts. However, it's clear that something will happen. 'Given growth rates of 10 to 15 percent a month, the question is when, not if, Congress and IRS start paying attention to these issues,' [senior economist Dan] Miller, who is a fan of virtual worlds and economies, told CNET News.com in December. 'So it is incumbent on us to set the terms and the debate so we have a shaped tax policy toward virtual worlds and virtual economies in a favorable way.'"
If the rich don't spend any money, sure, they get a break. But what rich person doesn't spend a lot of money? Sure, they save a lot of money (that's how a lot of them get rich), but they also spend a lot of money.
Remember, savings help the economy, too. Savings are reinvested in economic growth.
FairTax does target some individuals aggressively, sure. But so does our tax system now. Pardon me if I weep for a handful of wealthy people that don't pay any tax now that suddenly will have to pay taxes.
I'd probably pay more in FairTax than I would under Income Taxes, yet I still support FairTax. With FairTax, I can directly control my taxation through spending. Politicians will be unable to alter the taxation rate without it being highly visible. If the tax rate went from 23% to 24%, EVERYONE would see it on EVERY receipt. Right now they can hide tax increases in all sorts of places while simultaneously throwing money back as "tax refunds".