It looks like one possible sticking point that may not have been considered since, I suspect, most people who’ve done studies to come up with the FairTax are homeowners, who may not have thought of the apartment rent angle. Any comments? Is this something that needs to be re-thought or does the FairTax need a bit of a tweak? I personally think the FairTax is a great thing, and I do hope it passes sooner rather than later. Now, if only these clueless contenders (not counting Huckabee) for the presidency will actually take a look at it. I think it is irresponsible for them NOT to learn about it.
Some people are not familiar with the FairTax, though they think they are because they are only thinking of one side of the equation. The other side is that embedded taxes will disappear. That includes Fica withholding, corporate income taxes, and every other tax we pay, which is why the FairTax is considered ‘revenue neutral’. When that goes away, your income is bigger and things you buy are cheaper. Also, there are trillions of dollars that will be repatriated within months from sheltered accounts. The FairTax will encourage saving and investment. There will be no money you make that way, remember? The economy will be growing and, as it grows, it follows that taxes will gradually go down. The current tax system is not fair to our manufacturing, here, which is why they leave this country. Once the FairTax is passed, manufacturing will return. -Everything- imported will be subject to tax, as well as people in the shadow economy. BTW, I found the answer to my rent question, elsewhere.:)
bostonianinmo, The "Income Tax" is a joke. It’s a tax on EVERY dollar you earn. Buy a house for $200,000 and you have to earn an additional $54,000 to pay the TAX! Buy a car for $30,000 and you have to earn an extra $8,100 in TAX just to put it on the road.
See my point – nice try at a slam though… You receive your gross pay, so you end up with more income, in addition you receive a rebate every month to cover necessities. Consider these items have 5 or 30 year lending periods that the tax is spread over.. and you receive a rebate that covers such necessities tax free.. It’s not like it adds a tax, it is a tax replacement so the relative burden will likely be similar. The economic incentives for the country are enormous (even critics agree with this point).
As for the original question, Renting an apartment has many of the same costs as any type of service or good. The landlord likely pays self-employment or corporate taxes / payroll taxes on the income from the rental. They also have the compliance cost associated with these taxes, which would be somewhat included in the switch to the FairTax as they would keep .25% of the collection. So if the owner keeps all their income taxes and their half of payroll (like what is expected from most employment arrangements), they could still decrease their operation cost by the other taxes they pay and the compliance. If they have any employees, they will also receive a portion from this tax burden. If they have maintenance costs, these would be tax free as the final consumption is the rental, so you have reduced cost there. There is also the possibility that they may refinance, because the FairTax is expected to drop interest rates by 25%. Also consider the other end… the rebate is meant to untax necessities, which housing is included in the Department of Health and Human Services calculation (possibly one of the most important next to food). So the renters will likely have more income (once they receive gross pay) and a rebate that is specifically for paying the taxes on such necessities. Those on social security receive their gross benefit, plus an increase due to any inflation, and the rebate.
Tavira Garden – Apartment for rent in complex near Tavira, Algarve, Portugal
http://www.paris-apartment-rent.com/