MASON, N.H. — In Iowa, Republican Mike Huckabee’s controversial proposal to abolish the IRS and the income tax in favor of a national sales tax energized a passionate grass-roots network. Hundreds of "fair taxers," as supporters call themselves, packed his rallies long before the former Arkansas governor began to surge in the polls.
Despite Huckabee's enthusiasm for the plan, there is considerable skepticism, both among voters and policy experts, as to its viability. Critics, like former Reagan administration economic adviser Bruce Bartlett, argue the tax is not only totally impractical but would also create a massive black market for tax-free goods. In practice, the tax actually is a 30 percent increase, says Bartlett. Even the prebate poses problems: Critics argue that distributing the check would be a bureaucratic nightmare. In the end, they say, the tax burden would still fall mostly on poorer families, who invest less, as they have to spend more of their money on essential items.Huckabee’s fair tax advocacy isn't the only part of his tax record drawing scrutiny. In recent weeks, the anti-tax group Club for Growth and GOP rival Mitt Romney ran a series of ads here, in Iowa and in South Carolina, accusing Huckabee of raising taxes as governor of Arkansas.
Huckabee says he cut taxes “almost 100 times,” saving taxpayers about $380 million. While various news reports found that Huckabee did indeed cut taxes 90 times, he also passed 21 tax increases that far outweighed all the cuts. The total net tax increase was about $505.1 million.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0108/7786.html
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