Obama’s VAT Tax Is No Answer

By INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY

Instead of raising taxes,Obama creates new taxes

Fiscal Policy:Given the number of new tax ideas making the rounds,you’d think we were in a rip-roaring expansion. But we’re not,and new taxes are exactly the wrong thing to be proposing.

In addition to kicking up taxes on the so-called wealthy,various members of the current administration seem to have lots of new ideas for separating Americans from their money.

Ezekiel Emanuel,brother of Rahm Emanuel,President Obama’s top aide,is health care adviser to Obama’s budget director,Peter Orszag. He wants a 10% value-added tax (VAT),similar to the European Union’s,to “pay”for health care reform.

It’s called value-added,but it’s really value subtracted — a tax imposed on each level of production,from raw goods to consumers.

In Congress,meanwhile,Democrats are pushing for an Internet tax and a cap-and-trade tax on energy use. They want more money. What better way than to tax something people now use for free?

No question,if current spending plans remain in place,the federal government will need a lot more money.