A VAT Would Finance the Road to Serfdom

« The Left-Wing Drumbeat for a Value-Added Tax Gets Louder

A VAT Would Finance the Road to Serfdom

October 14, 2009 by Dan Mitchell

This blog has been warning about the danger of a value-added tax. We’ve cited the salivating comments of Speaker Pelosi. We’ve noted the favorable comments by Obama insiders like the former Co-Chairman of his transition team. We know the battle is coming. Now we need to fight. This newly-released video from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity provides the data showing that this is a do-or-die fight. If we lose, there is no hope of stopping statism. Blocking a VAT is not a sufficient condition to protect America from becoming a French-style welfare state, but it is a necessary condition.

Posted in Big Government, Center for Freedom and Prosperity, Economics, Fiscal Policy, Government Spending, Pelosi, Spending, Tax Competition, Taxation, Value-Added Tax, VAT, Video | Tagged Big Government, Obama, Pelosi, Tax, Taxation, Value-Added Tax, VAT, Video | 57 Comments

57 Responses

on June 22, 2010 at 9:08 am Top House Democrat Calls for Middle-Class Tax Hikes « International Liberty

[...] June 22, 2010 by Dan Mitchell I’ve frequently argued that the main purpose of “taxing the rich” is not to collect more revenue. Smart leftists, after all, understand that there are very strong Laffer Curve effects at the top of the income scale since investors and entrepreneurs have considerable ability to control the timing, level, and composition of their income. So if higher tax rates on upper-income taxpayers don’t collect much revenue, why is the left so insistent on class-warfare taxation? The answer, I think, is that soak-the-rich taxes are a “loss-leader” that politicians impose in order to pave the way for higher taxes on the middle class. Indeed, I made this point in my video on class warfare taxation, and noted that are not enough rich people to finance big government. As such, politicians that want to tax the middle class hope to soften opposition among ordinary people by first punishing society’s most productive people. We already know that tax rates on the so-called rich will jump next January thanks to higher income tax rates, higher capital gains tax rates, more double taxation of dividends, and higher death taxes. Now the politicians are preparing to drop the other shoe. Excerpted below is a blurb from the Washington Post about a member of the House Democratic leadership urging middle-class tax hikes, and let’s not forgot all the politicians salivating for a value-added tax. [...]
on June 22, 2010 at 12:04 pm Top House Democrat Calls for Middle-Class Tax Hikes (and the real reason why) | Think Tank West

[...] the House Democratic leadership urging middle-class tax hikes, and let’s not forgot all the politicians salivating for a value-added tax. Tax cuts that benefit the middle class should not be “totally sacrosanct” as [...]
on June 28, 2010 at 1:09 pm Top House Democrat Calls for Middle-Class Tax Hikes « The Market Center Blog

[...] of the House Democratic leadership urging middle-class tax hikes, and let’s not forgot all the politicians salivating for a value-added tax. Tax cuts that benefit the middle class should not be “totally sacrosanct” as policymakers try [...]
on August 20, 2010 at 4:58 pm Center for Freedom and Prosperity » Top House Democrat Calls for Middle-Class Tax Hikes

[...] of the House Democratic leadership urging middle-class tax hikes, and let’s not forgot all the politicians salivating for a value-added tax. Tax cuts that benefit the middle class should not be “totally sacrosanct” as policymakers try [...]
on August 24, 2010 at 11:34 am New York Times Seeks Higher Taxes on the “Rich” as Prelude to Higher Taxes on the Middle Class « International Liberty

[...] welfare state without a value-added tax, but they don’t want to publicly associate themselves with that view until the political environment is more conducive to success. Most important, they realize that it [...]
on August 24, 2010 at 5:44 pm New York Times Seeks Higher Taxes on the “Rich” as Prelude to Higher Taxes on the Middle Class « The Market Center Blog

[...] welfare state without a value-added tax, but they don’t want to publicly associate themselves with that view until the political environment is more conducive to success. Most important, they realize that it [...]
on August 25, 2010 at 3:02 pm » New York Times Seeks Higher Taxes on the ‘Rich’ as Prelude to Higher Taxes on the Middle Class - Big Government

[...] welfare state without a value-added tax, but they don’t want to publicly associate themselves with that view until the political environment is more conducive to success. Most important, they realize that it [...]
on September 1, 2010 at 12:28 pm More Arguments Against a Value-Added Tax « International Liberty

[...] to fiscal responsibility is a value-added tax, as I’ve explained here, here, here, here, and here. So I’m delighted to see a growing amount of research showing that a VAT is bad news. Jim [...]
on September 1, 2010 at 5:28 pm More Arguments Against a Value-Added Tax « The Market Center Blog

[...] to fiscal responsibility is a value-added tax, as I’ve explained here, here, here, here, and here. So I’m delighted to see a growing amount of research showing that a VAT is bad news. Jim Powell [...]
on October 7, 2010 at 6:32 am New York Times Seeks Higher Taxes on the ‘Rich’ as Prelude to Higher Taxes on the Middle Class | Cato @ Liberty

[...] welfare state without a value-added tax, but they don’t want to publicly associate themselves with that view until the political environment is more conducive to success. Most important, they realize that it [...]
on October 15, 2010 at 4:10 pm Mitch Daniels Would Be a Terrible President « International Liberty

[...] evidence, Daniels has indicated that he is open to a value-added tax (and energy taxes as well). A VAT would be a fiscal catastrophe for America, paving the way for European-style statism. Here’s an excerpt from Politico. Indiana [...]
on October 17, 2010 at 10:51 am Mitch Daniels Would Be a Terrible President « The Market Center Blog

[...] evidence, Daniels has indicated that he is open to a value-added tax (and energy taxes as well). A VAT would be a fiscal catastrophe for America, paving the way for European-style statism. Here’s an excerpt from Politico. Indiana Gov. Mitch [...]
on October 20, 2010 at 10:09 am The False Choice Bewteen a VAT and Impossible Spending Cuts « International Liberty

[...] news for taxpayers. From a policy perspective, I’m very much against a VAT because it will finance bigger government, as explained in this [...]
on October 20, 2010 at 11:20 am The False Choice Between a VAT and Impossible Spending Cuts « The Market Center Blog

[...] bad news for taxpayers. From a policy perspective, I’m very much against a VAT because it will finance bigger government, as explained in this [...]
on November 4, 2010 at 11:48 am What Happens When Politicians Get a New Source of Revenue? « International Liberty

[...] to travel. But, more important, imagine what American politicians will do if they ever succeed in imposing a value-added tax. The rate initially will be low (just as the original income tax had a top rate of just 7 percent), [...]
on November 4, 2010 at 12:24 pm What Happens When Politicians Get a New Source of Revenue? « The Market Center Blog

[...] to travel. But, more important, imagine what American politicians will do if they ever succeed in imposing a value-added tax. The rate initially will be low (just as the original income tax had a top rate of just 7 percent), [...]
on November 7, 2010 at 1:56 am What Happens When Politicians Get a New Source of Revenue? (Cato @ Liberty Blog)

[...] to travel. But, more important, imagine what American politicians will do if they ever succeed in imposing a value-added tax. The rate initially will be low (just as the original income tax had a top rate of just 7 percent), [...]
on November 17, 2010 at 4:38 pm Another Tax-Hike Scheme from another “Bipartisan” Group of Washington Insiders « International Liberty

[...] The Task Force proposes a value-added tax, which is estimated to generate more than $3 trillion between 2012 and 2020. They call this new tax [...]
on November 17, 2010 at 6:39 pm Another Tax-Hike Scheme from another “Bipartisan” Group of Washington Insiders « The Market Center Blog

[...] The Task Force proposes a value-added tax, which is estimated to generate more than $3 trillion between 2012 and 2020. They call this new tax [...]
on November 20, 2010 at 7:32 pm Another Tax-Hike Scheme from Another ‘Bipartisan’ Group of Washington Insiders (Cato @ Liberty Blog)

[...] Task Force proposes a value-added tax, which is estimated to generate more than $3 trillion between 2012 and 2020. They call this new tax [...]
on December 17, 2010 at 1:02 am The False Choice Between a VAT and Impossible Spending Cuts | Cato @ Liberty

[...] news for taxpayers. From a policy perspective, I’m very much against a VAT because it will finance bigger government, as explained in this [...]
on January 3, 2011 at 10:26 am Five Things We Should Worry about in 2011 « International Liberty

[...] deal, sort of like a football team trading a great young quarterback for a 35-year old lineman. The VAT would give statists a money machine that they need to turn the United States into a French-style welfare state. This type of national [...]
on January 5, 2011 at 2:22 am Three Things We Should Worry about in 2011 (Cato @ Liberty Blog)

[...] deal, sort of like a football team trading a great young quarterback for a 35-year old lineman. The VAT would give statists a money machine that they need to turn the United States into a French-style welfare state. This type of national [...]
on January 5, 2011 at 2:22 pm Three Things We Should Worry about in 2011 | Cato @ Liberty

[...] deal, sort of like a football team trading a great young quarterback for a 35-year old lineman. The VAT would give statists a money machine that they need to turn the United States into a French-style welfare state. This type of national [...]
on January 6, 2011 at 6:03 pm Five Things We Should Worry about in 2011 « The Market Center Blog

[...] deal, sort of like a football team trading a great young quarterback for a 35-year old lineman. The VAT would give statists a money machine that they need to turn the United States into a French-style welfare state. This type of national [...]
on February 1, 2011 at 5:21 pm Mitt Romney: The Obama Republican « International Liberty

[...] system that Romney imposed on Massachusetts. And if I was to pick the Republican most likely to impose a VAT on America, it would be a corporatist GOPer like Romney. Axelrod, one of Obama’s most trusted [...]
on February 1, 2011 at 8:08 pm Mitt Romney: The Obama Republican « Sago

[...] system that Romney imposed on Massachusetts. And if I was to pick the Republican most likely to impose a VAT on America, it would be a corporatist GOPer like Romney. Axelrod, one of Obama’s most trusted [...]
on June 15, 2011 at 8:34 am The Not-so-Secret Left-Wing Agenda to Increase the Burden of Government – and How to Stop It « International Liberty

[...] revenue that would be necessary to finance promised entitlement benefits. As I’ve noted before, the VAT is a giant source of tax revenue, so the left no longer would have to worry about financing a European-sized welfare state. After [...]
on June 15, 2011 at 11:48 pm » Saying ‘Hell No’ to Tax Increases Is Key in Fight against Left-Wing Agenda to Increase the Burden of Government - Big Government

[...] revenue that would be necessary to finance promised entitlement benefits. As I’ve noted before, the VAT is a giant source of tax revenue, so the left no longer would have to worry about financing a European-sized welfare state. After [...]
on June 23, 2011 at 7:33 am Arguing about Class-Warfare Taxation with Robert Reich « International Liberty

[...] I should have known to force myself back into the discussion. I did get in a final warning about the value-added tax, but this was not my best [...]
on July 26, 2011 at 6:02 pm You Should Support a Value-Added Tax…if You Want Bigger Government and More Debt « International Liberty

[...] five other witnesses, and all of the other people testifying were sympathetic to a VAT. But since I had truth on my side, that made it a fair fight (though it did cross my mind that it’s not a good sign when a [...]
on July 26, 2011 at 10:45 pm » You Should Support a Value-Added Tax…if You Want Bigger Government and More Debt - Big Government

[...] five other witnesses, and all of the other people testifying were sympathetic to a VAT. But since I had truth on my side, that made it a fair fight (though it did cross my mind that it’s not a good sign when a [...]
on July 30, 2011 at 9:08 am Basic Economics for Financial Journalists and Other Dummies « International Liberty

[...] steak every night. But since I’m a cranky libertarian, let’s assume Obama has imposed a European-style 20 percent VAT and the tax burden has [...]
on July 31, 2011 at 7:14 pm Basic Economics for Financial Journalists and Other Dummies | Ask Lawyer

[...] steak every night. But since I’m a cranky libertarian, let’s assume Obama has imposed a European-style 20 percent VAT and the tax burden has [...]
on August 1, 2011 at 6:08 am » Basic Economics for Financial Journalists and Other Dummies - Big Government

[...] steak every night. But since I’m a cranky libertarian, let’s assume Obama has imposed a European-style 20 percent VAT and the tax burden has [...]
on August 2, 2011 at 1:44 pm Basic Economics for Financial Journalists and Other Dummies | Cato @ Liberty

[...] steak every night. But since I’m a cranky libertarian, let’s assume Obama has imposed a European-style 20 percent VAT and the tax burden has [...]
on August 31, 2011 at 9:02 am Let’s Send Obama to the Vatican for an Economics Lesson « International Liberty

[...] value-added tax, not surprisingly, has played a key role in Europe’s fiscal [...]
on September 25, 2011 at 1:21 pm Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 Plan Is Great in Theory, but… « International Liberty

[...] me put it more bluntly. A national sales tax – such as a Fair Tax or a VAT – would be a less destructive way of raising revenue than the current tax [...]
on October 4, 2011 at 11:42 am The Danish Dr.-Jekyll-Mr.-Hyde Paradox and Wagner’s Law « International Liberty

[...] the big expansion of the welfare state in the 1960s (which was made possible by the money maching known as the value-added tax) has slowed growth in western nations. The only silver lining to that dark cloud is that at least [...]
on November 11, 2011 at 9:23 am Per Dollar Spent, OECD Subsidies May Be the Most Destructively Wasteful Part of the Federal Budget « International Liberty

[...] This Center for Freedom and Prosperity study has all the gory details. The OECD bureaucrats (who get tax-free salaries, by the way) endorsed Obamacare, supported the failed stimulus, and are big advocates of a value-added tax for America. [...]
on November 15, 2011 at 1:01 pm OECD Subsidies May Be The Most Destructively Wasteful Part of the Federal Budget « Brave New Libertarian World

[...] This Center for Freedom and Prosperity study has all the gory details. The OECD bureaucrats (who get tax-free salaries, by the way) endorsed Obamacare, supported the failed stimulus, and are big advocates of a value-added tax for America. [...]
on November 17, 2011 at 8:27 am Five Lessons for America from the European Fiscal Crisis « International Liberty

[...] A value-added tax would be a disaster. This was music to my ears since I have repeatedly warned that the statists won’t be able to impose a European-style welfare state in the United States [...]
on November 17, 2011 at 12:37 pm « Does Socialism Work? A Classroom Experiment Five Lessons for America from the European Fiscal Crisis « A Moral Outrage

[...] A value-added tax would be a disaster. This was music to my ears since I have repeatedly warned that the statists won’t be able to impose a European-style welfare state in the United States [...]
on November 17, 2011 at 8:06 pm 5 Lessons from The European Financial Crisis | MyGovCost | Government Cost Calculator

[...] value-added tax would be a disaster. This was music to my ears since I have repeatedly warned that the statists won’t be able to impose a European-style welfare state in the United States [...]
on November 19, 2011 at 11:31 am Two easy pictures: How the welfare state begins and ends | Eternity Matters

[...] value-added tax would be a disaster. This was music to my ears sinceI have repeatedly warned that the statists won’t be able to impose a European-style welfare state in the United States [...]
on January 4, 2012 at 8:00 am Mitt Romney, the Value-Added Tax, and America’s European Future « International Liberty

[...] a column for today’s Wall Street Journal, I elaborated on those concerns, explaining why a VAT is bad fiscal policy. I had three main points. First, I noted that the big spenders need a VAT in order to achieve a [...]
on January 4, 2012 at 10:04 am » Mitt Romney, the Value-Added Tax, and America’s European Future - Big Government

[...] a column for today’s Wall Street Journal, I elaborated on those concerns, explaining why a VAT is bad fiscal policy. I had three main points. First, I noted that the big spenders need a VAT in order to achieve a [...]
on January 4, 2012 at 10:52 am Mitt Romney, the Value-Added Tax, and America’s European Future « ConservativeWatchNews.com

[...] a column for today’s Wall Street Journal, I elaborated on those concerns, explaining why a VAT is bad fiscal policy. I had three main points. First, I noted that the big spenders need a VAT in order to achieve a [...]
on January 16, 2012 at 1:36 pm New Evidence from Japan Shows Why Romney’s Interest in a Value-Added Tax Is so Troubling « International Liberty

[...] One of my key points was that the VAT is a money machine for big government. [...]
on January 16, 2012 at 5:22 pm » New Evidence from Japan Shows Why Romney’s Interest in a Value-Added Tax Is So Troubling - Big Government

[...] One of my key points was that the VAT is a money machine for big government. [...]
on February 5, 2012 at 8:07 am » Should the United Nations Have the Power to Impose Global Taxes? - Big Government

[...] tempted to say the value-added tax since our hopes of restraining the federal government will be greatly undermined if we give the [...]
on February 5, 2012 at 8:39 am Should the United Nations Have the Power to Impose Global Taxes? « News « @griffinrc

[...] tempted to say the value-added tax since our hopes of restraining the federal government will be greatly undermined if we give the [...]
on February 5, 2012 at 11:03 am Should the United Nations Have the Power to Impose Global Taxes? | PERSUASION IN INK

[...] tempted to say the value-added tax since our hopes of restraining the federal government will be greatly undermined if we give the [...]
on February 5, 2012 at 10:06 pm Should the United Nations Have the Power to Impose Global Taxes? | Sago

[...] tempted to say the value-added tax since our hopes of restraining the federal government will be greatly undermined if we give the [...]
on February 5, 2012 at 10:08 pm Should the United Nations Have the Power to Impose Global Taxes? | Bid Government – Resources and Bidding Information

[...] tempted to say the value-added tax since our hopes of restraining the federal government will be greatly undermined if we give the [...]
on February 6, 2012 at 9:36 pm Should the United Nations Have the Power to Impose Global Taxes? | MTR

[...] tempted to say the value-added tax since our hopes of restraining the federal government will be greatly undermined if we give the [...]
on February 7, 2012 at 8:20 am Global Taxes? Hmmm… » insignificant thoughts

[...] tempted to say the value-added tax since our hopes of restraining the federal government will be greatly undermined if we give the [...]

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