Fair tax isn't really fair

Is the fair tax fair? Many politicians are touting the fair tax as a replacement for the current income tax system. As I understand it, the fair tax would be a national sales tax applied only to retail purchases of new goods and services. It would completely replace the income tax and all its iterations, such as capital gains tax, investment income tax and all taxes on businesses. Also, it would not apply to the purchase of "used" items.

It seems to me that the little people — workers and such — who tend to spend 100 percent of their income on retail consumption of food, housing and transportation, would pay the most tax. Of course, the wealthy will spend more for these things, but not in proportion to their wealth. The cost of government should be borne by those who benefit most. In a capitalist nation like the United States, that means wealth should be the factor used to apply taxes.

Bob Neale

Salt Lake City