By John Romano
NEW YORK (YBH) – White House adviser Paul Volcker today called for a European style VAT or value added tax in the United States. A VAT is akin to a national sales tax.
Obama advisor begins push for national sales tax.
Volcker said the VAT “was not as toxic an idea” as it used to be and may be needed to fight the deficit and entitlement costs. Mr. Volcker is also calling for an energy or carbon tax.
Mr. Volcker acknowledged that both a VAT or energy tax would be widely unpopular, but said that, “if at the end of the day we need to raise taxes, we should raise taxes.”
A VAT would most likely set off a firestorm of protest in the United States, probably far worse than the health care debate. Republicans will most likely pick up on Mr. Volcker’s language and use it as a rallying point in November’s mid-term elections.
The Obama administration bucked popular opinion when passing a $1 trillion health care package last month. It is not clear if they would do so again, especially with something as unpopular as a national sales tax.
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John Romano is the publisher and editor of Yes, But However!, a musician, a former political correspondent for BBC Radio London, and a serial web entrepreneur. Follow him on twitter: twitter.com/yesbuthowever or John Romano on Google+John Romano article archive.
