The article further quotes Commerce Sec. Evans
endorsing Russia’s flat tax at the Heritage Foundation and “President Bush, in Russia last year to
see President Vladimir Putin, said: "The good news is that the flat tax in
Russia is a good, fair tax -- much more fair, by the way, than many Western
countries, I might add." …“The 15 percent rate
does not take effect until January. In the
meantime, Bremer has abolished all taxes except for real estate, car
sales, gasoline and the pleasantly named "excellent and first class hotel
and restaurant tax." Even while leaving these Hussein-era levies in place,
Bremer exempted his coalition authority, the
armed forces, their contractors and humanitarian organizations.
Exempting occupation personnel leaves only the Iraqis to pay taxes, as well as
journalists, business people and other foreigners.” Social engineering can be a lot of fun when you don’t have
to pay the political price back home.
- KWC REH wrote: With the exception of the military, roads and education what do
they tax for in Islamic countries? Here in the US we
have a very complicated system that upholds the culture. The flat
tax would reduce support to many activities that are uniquely Western in
culture and not related to Islamic values. So now we know that
Norquist, Graham, Armey, Kemp and Forbes are Moslems? Or that
they have enough money to do what they want and screw the little guy that needs
the government to make things available for his children that give him equality
in the possibilities Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Repeating what other
colonial powers have done in times past, instituting policies or systems not
possible to do on the home front, the US imposes a flat tax on Iraq that might
be the equivalent of a Superbowl ad: great marketing for a huge audience. KWC U.S. Administrator
Imposes Flat Tax System on Iraq By Dana Milbank and Walter Pincus, Washington Post Staff Writers The flat tax, long a dream of economic conservatives, is
finally getting its day -- not in the United States, but in Iraq. It took L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator in Baghdad,
no more than a stroke of the pen Sept. 15 to accomplish what eluded the likes
of publisher Steve Forbes, Reps. Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.) and Richard K. Armey
(R-Tex.), and Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Tex.) over the course of a decade and two
presidential campaigns. "The highest individual and corporate income tax rates
for 2004 and subsequent years shall
not exceed 15 percent,"
Bremer wrote in Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 37, "Tax
Strategy for 2003," issued last month. Voilą! Iraq has a flat tax, and the 15 percent rate
is even lower than Forbes (17 percent) and Gramm (16 percent) favored for the
United States. And, unless a future Iraqi government rescinds it, the flat tax
will remain long after the Americans have left. "It's extremely good news," said Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax
Reform and a Bush administration ally. Bremer's vaguely worded edict leaves open the possibility that Iraqis could
face different levels of taxation below 15 percent, but "they told me it's
a flat rate and it appears as though it's a flat rate," Norquist said. The
tax fighter added: "It
might be a hint to the rest of us." Bremer's new economic policy for Iraq will slash
Saddam Hussein's top tax rate for individuals and businesses from 45 to 15
percent. Of course, since Hussein's government, like others in the Middle East,
almost never enforced tax collection, there is no real history of paying taxes in the country. Bremer's
statement in the following excerpt from Joel Brinkley's piece in today's NYT is
coded language for:
|
- [Futurework] We're getting the hell out Keith Hudson
- RE: [Futurework] We're getting the hell out Karen Watters Cole
- Re: [Futurework] We're getting the hell out Ray Evans Harrell
- Re: [Futurework] We're getting the hell ou... Karen Watters Cole
- Re: [Futurework] We're getting the hel... Ray Evans Harrell
- RE: [Futurework] We're getting the hell out Harry Pollard
- Re: [Futurework] We're getting the hell out wbward
- Re: [Futurework] We're getting the hell out Ray Evans Harrell