Now that we have passed the Health Care Reform Bill that was scored by the CBO to say it is not going to increase the deficit and over the long  term actually reduce the deficit, Congress is now floating the idea of a VAT, a Value Added Tax, like Europe. To me this is an admission that the CBO scoring was just so much smoke and mirrors. That is why a majority of Americans are opposed to the Bill and Congress. Hardly anyone really believes that this Health Care Bill won’t cost us dearly. So now, they are apparently going to try to sell us on a VAT.

I am linking you to a short presentation that shows how the VAT works. The most important thing about the VAT that is not underlined in this presentation is the fact that the consumer never actually sees that tax that is embedded in the price of everything he will buy under the VAT regimen. I believe this is why some members of Congress like it so much; no visibility.

First, I believe we should be looking like starving hawks for ways to cut spending rather than raising taxes. But that being said, I also believe in full disclosure. There should be no secrets when it comes to government getting into the pockets of American citizens. The VAT does just the opposite, it attempts to hide the tax from the consumer. Oh yes, I know, anyone willing to look into it carefully can know what is being paid in tax, but the reality is that most won’t do that and everyone will eventually get used to the increase in costs and not realize how much of it is a tax. And, of course, once the VAT is in place, it can be slowly increased and, like the frog in the pot, we won’t realize that we are being boiled alive. As you can tell, I don’t like the VAT. But I promised you a link to a demonstration to how it works, so here it is. How Would a VAT Work?

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