Shot in the arm for consumers?

0

The National Retail Federation wants consumers back in its members’ stores, and it thinks a good lure would not be a value added, it would be something taken away: the sales tax. It is trying to sell the incoming Obama administration on three 10-day tax holidays, scheduled for March, July and October of next year. NRF says this would help kick-start the economy, which it says will be difficult to do if Americans do not resume a normal amount of spending. NRF suggest the federal government reimburse states for lost tax revenue, which it expects to amount to about $20B.


RBR/TVBR observation: And therein lies the problem: there is no national sales tax, so there really is nothing the federal government can easily do to make this plan a reality. The necessary involvement of 50 state legislatures and governors, plus the District of Columbia, to set something like this up, not to mention keeping the books while the tax holiday is in progress, sounds prohibitive to us.