Sales Tax Would Reduce Buying Power

The front-page article ''Radical Tax Reforms Gain New Attention,'' April 12, was intriguing, but the plan proposed by Rep. Bill Archer (R) of Texas isn't a desirable one in the United States. Eliminating the income tax altogether and replacing it with a broad-based consumption tax will only enhance the problems that the US is trying to combat. By raising the national sales tax to 20 percent, the buying power of many Americans will be drastically reduced.

Particularly, families on welfare, who do not have to pay any income tax, will be negatively affected by a 20 percent sales tax. This holds true for the less privileged in society in general. How is a single mother with several children, for instance, earning minimum wage, supposed to pay for food, clothing, and day care if we raise the sales tax to 20 percent?

Archer also doesn't seem to have considered the impact of a 20 percent sales tax on the number of tourists that annually pour millions of dollars into the American economy. One suggestion would be to adopt the European concept of a lower sales tax on essential products and a higher sales tax on luxury items.

Martine Kintziger

Oxford, Ohio

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