IBD/TIPP Poll: Vetoing The Value-Added Tax

Last Updated on Thursday, 17 December 2009 13:55 Written by Investor's Business Daily Wednesday, 27 May 2009 00:00

Washington is taking a "fresh look" at the value-added tax, which would impose a new levy on every level of production all the way to the consumer. With deficits soaring, a 10% VAT levy might just tempt policymakers, who see it as a way to pay for national health care. They'd better consult the voters first: Our own IBD/TIPP Poll finds voters ­- regardless of party - overwhelmingly oppose a VAT, either as a supplement to our current income tax or as a replacement for it.

VAT Is No Answer

Last Updated on Thursday, 17 December 2009 13:53 Written by Investor's Business Daily Wednesday, 27 May 2009 00:00

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.

IBD/TIPP Poll: Americans Will Believe Their Tax Cut When They See It

Last Updated on Thursday, 17 December 2009 13:54 Written by Investor's Business Daily Tuesday, 19 May 2009 00:00

Despite President Obama's pledge to "cut taxes for 95% of workers and their families," a majority of Americans think his administration will raise taxes instead. According to this month's IBD/TIPP Poll, 57% think their federal income taxes are going up and 19% expect no change. Only 16% think they're going down. Interestingly, similar percentages apply to middle-income earners (in the $50,000 to $75,000 income bracket) - the very category the president has targeted for relief.

Cap-And-Trade A No-Go Once Costs Are Factored In

Last Updated on Thursday, 17 December 2009 13:54 Written by Investor's Business Daily Thursday, 14 May 2009 00:00

Other polls that ask Americans how they feel about a proposed "cap and trade" system to control pollution have tended to produce positive responses. But those surveys never seem to mention what such a system might cost. The latest IBD/TIPP Poll laid it all out in a somewhat lengthy question and drew a very different response: By nearly 3-to-1, Americans oppose a cap-and-trade system that, if opponents are correct, could add $800 to $1,200 per household to energy prices.