There has never been a time in our lives when we needed the FairTax so much. Total unemployment stands at 17 percent nationwide. Youth unemployment is above 50 percent. The tax gap averages $350 billion per year. This is the amount the IRS cannot collect with our current tax system. You and I have to make up that difference. It costs us well over $300 billion every year to fill out our tax forms. We spend over seven billion hours filling out tax forms. The only ones who benefit from our tax system are those who know how to cheat the system, politicians who reward friends and punish enemies with it, and half of the lobbyists in D. C. who make 7 figure incomes from clients.
Passage of the FairTax immediately frees up $650 billion to grow our economy. Estimates are that the GDP will grow between seven and ten percent the first year the FairTax is in effect. The Dow Jones Industrials is expected to double quickly because of the FairTax. The FairTax means a 25 percent increase in spendable income for workers.
How do we pass the FairTax? The first thing is to make people aware of the FairTax. Americans for Fair Taxation has raised $250,000 as a first step in creating TV ads educating 140,000,000 taxpayers. In June the Rasmussen Poll found that 43 percent of Americans favor replacing the income tax system with an undefined national consumption tax! That’s real progress. If we want change we must look to ourselves. It is up to each of us to ask people we know if they have heard of the FairTax. Then direct them to http://www.fairtax.org/. We also offer webinars the fourth Thursday of each month at https://www.gotomeeting.com/register/476518786. You must pre-register.
Tell your congressmen you want the FairTax.
Best regards, Al Ose
This letter was written by FairTax volunteer, Al Ose. He hit the nail on the head with this letter. The bills are in congress now: HR25 and S296. Ask your congressmen to become sponsers of these bills and start pushing them towards fruition. We need the FairTax NOW!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
OBAMA'S ADMINISTRATION NEEDS TO RETHINK
Following is a letter from Jim Bennett, a FairTax volunteer, regarding the proposed crack down on tax havens and the FairTax solution:
Rather than crack down on tax havens, as the Obama Administration announced it would do on May 4, 2009, we could do better if we, ourselves, were to become the world’s tax haven. And there is a bill in Congress to do just that - The Fair Tax Act of 2009, HR25, S296.
The Obama Administration proposes a series of measures to eliminate deductions for companies that take jobs overseas, combined with reforming the tax credit system. But with 70,000 pages of tax statutes, regulations and revenue rulings, the closing of one loophole necessarily results in the opening of another. The Administration is overly sanguine that adding 800 revenue agents will be enough do the policing job that its proposal would require.
The FairTax, on the other hand, while being fairer to low-income people than today’s tax code, eliminates all taxes on business and investment and repatriates dollars voluntarily. The FairTax replaces payroll taxes, estate, gift and generation-skipping taxes, and corporate and personal income taxes with a national retail sales tax on consumption of all new property and services -except education - once and only once. A rebate to all households with valid social security numbers for tax on consumption for essentials assures the tax is fair to low-income families.
Millions of dollars of research say the tax will fully fund the federal government at current real spending levels. The FairTax would bring trillions of dollars of offshore capital back to the United States in months - without hiring any more revenue agents. The repatriation would be free of federal compulsion.
The Obama Administration needs to rethink its approach.
Rather than crack down on tax havens, as the Obama Administration announced it would do on May 4, 2009, we could do better if we, ourselves, were to become the world’s tax haven. And there is a bill in Congress to do just that - The Fair Tax Act of 2009, HR25, S296.
The Obama Administration proposes a series of measures to eliminate deductions for companies that take jobs overseas, combined with reforming the tax credit system. But with 70,000 pages of tax statutes, regulations and revenue rulings, the closing of one loophole necessarily results in the opening of another. The Administration is overly sanguine that adding 800 revenue agents will be enough do the policing job that its proposal would require.
The FairTax, on the other hand, while being fairer to low-income people than today’s tax code, eliminates all taxes on business and investment and repatriates dollars voluntarily. The FairTax replaces payroll taxes, estate, gift and generation-skipping taxes, and corporate and personal income taxes with a national retail sales tax on consumption of all new property and services -except education - once and only once. A rebate to all households with valid social security numbers for tax on consumption for essentials assures the tax is fair to low-income families.
Millions of dollars of research say the tax will fully fund the federal government at current real spending levels. The FairTax would bring trillions of dollars of offshore capital back to the United States in months - without hiring any more revenue agents. The repatriation would be free of federal compulsion.
The Obama Administration needs to rethink its approach.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
APRIL 15TH - SOMEDAY JUST ANOTHER SPRING DAY
April 15, 2009 :
The following is from Steve King, a U.S. Congressman, who is pushing the FairTax.
King Addressing National FairTax Rally on Tax Day:
"The FairTax will unleash the power of America’s worker, allow us to grow out of the current economic downturn" WASHINGTON, D.C.
Cong. Steve King made the following statement on Tax Day, the date taxes are due to the I.R.S. King will speak at a national FairTax rally this evening in Columbia, SC. King will be joined by former Gov. Mike Huckabee and [others].
"April 15th is our annual day of reckoning with the IRS and the day the government stakes its claim on our hard-earned money. Our current tax system is simply broken.
"The worst part of our tax system is the way the income tax penalizes our work. That’s backwards. Why would government want to tax us for the work we do – taxing us more when we work harder and smarter and earn more money? Instead, the tax should be on consumption, not productivity, just like the FairTax –a national sales tax that un-taxes productivity.
"Our current income tax system is a relic of the past and we should toss it into dustbin of history. The FairTax will unleash the power of America’s worker and allow us to grow out of the current economic downturn."
"By shifting taxation from productive behavior to consumption, the FairTax allows Americans to take home their entire paycheck and eliminates the income tax and IRS. This will have a stimulative effect on our economy. Not only will Americans have more money to spend, they will have more money to save and invest—which will give American businesses more access to capital. This, in turn, will allow greater investment in research and development and result in the creation of new jobs."
"I hope you join me in firing the IRS, scrapping the income tax code and establishing the FairTax. Once we join together to get that done, we can let April 15th fade into history as just another day."
Check out the FairTax
The following is from Steve King, a U.S. Congressman, who is pushing the FairTax.
King Addressing National FairTax Rally on Tax Day:
"The FairTax will unleash the power of America’s worker, allow us to grow out of the current economic downturn" WASHINGTON, D.C.
Cong. Steve King made the following statement on Tax Day, the date taxes are due to the I.R.S. King will speak at a national FairTax rally this evening in Columbia, SC. King will be joined by former Gov. Mike Huckabee and [others].
"April 15th is our annual day of reckoning with the IRS and the day the government stakes its claim on our hard-earned money. Our current tax system is simply broken.
"The worst part of our tax system is the way the income tax penalizes our work. That’s backwards. Why would government want to tax us for the work we do – taxing us more when we work harder and smarter and earn more money? Instead, the tax should be on consumption, not productivity, just like the FairTax –a national sales tax that un-taxes productivity.
"Our current income tax system is a relic of the past and we should toss it into dustbin of history. The FairTax will unleash the power of America’s worker and allow us to grow out of the current economic downturn."
"By shifting taxation from productive behavior to consumption, the FairTax allows Americans to take home their entire paycheck and eliminates the income tax and IRS. This will have a stimulative effect on our economy. Not only will Americans have more money to spend, they will have more money to save and invest—which will give American businesses more access to capital. This, in turn, will allow greater investment in research and development and result in the creation of new jobs."
"I hope you join me in firing the IRS, scrapping the income tax code and establishing the FairTax. Once we join together to get that done, we can let April 15th fade into history as just another day."
Check out the FairTax
Thursday, April 9, 2009
GET YOUR LIST OF TEA PARTIES HERE
Here is your link to all of the Tea Parties across the nation, well over 2000 and counting. This site shows a map marking all of the Tea Parties available to you.
Find one in your area and go do your thing. Make a sign, put on your FairTax T-shirt and hat and join the masses marching against Socialism being forced upon us in many ways.
One of these ways is the outrageous borrowing and spending by the Federal Government. It is ruining our economy and putting a huge burden of debt on us, our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
But WE HAVE A SOLUTION - THE FAIR TAX! Go shout it out, pass out your literature and take advantage of these multitudes of people who are looking for a solution.
Find one in your area and go do your thing. Make a sign, put on your FairTax T-shirt and hat and join the masses marching against Socialism being forced upon us in many ways.
One of these ways is the outrageous borrowing and spending by the Federal Government. It is ruining our economy and putting a huge burden of debt on us, our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
But WE HAVE A SOLUTION - THE FAIR TAX! Go shout it out, pass out your literature and take advantage of these multitudes of people who are looking for a solution.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
JOIN THAT TEA PARTY - BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE
The following is from Gary Anderson, a FairTax Volunteer - a MUST READ:
We are NOT in a fight of left vs. right, R vs. D, or black vs. white. This is a fight to maintain the freedom to dissent. The traditional 3 branches of Government are currently colluding to wrest power from the American People, creating a facist regime bent on world domination.
Our ONLY respite is to energize the FOURTH branch of government, "The PEOPLE" to take back those powers that were delegated by us to them, by reason of their refusal to adhere to the Constitution.
We do this by non-compliance on every level; NOT just a few zealots who are glutton for punishment, but as a "body politic", in unity. First with voices, then with our labor, our taxes, and if need be, our arms.
We are at stage 1. Our voices are being heard in tea parties nationwide, & the polling places. But this fight could be over and lost by waiting to elect a new President. Therefore, our voices must be evermore LOUD.
In times future, you will be called upon for labor strikes, and sit downs; (get used to it!) Also, our tax Dollars must be wrest from their ability to automatically TAKE our money from us by the IRS (fica).
The income tax must GO! -- convenient for now, but absolutely critical for the future, if we are to de-fund the despots! I call on EVERY ONE of you, to DEMAND the FairTax, in every venue and to every person, so that our tax Dollars go directly to THE STATES (to withhold it), rather than Washington DC.
This kind of control will break the back of facism, by starving it into submission (to the people). In this respect, it can be seen that FairTax is not a "nice idea", but a necessary weapon to keep our freedom.
YOU MUST:
1. Learn your Constitution.
2. Understand the power of the FairTax to YOU (www.FairTax.org).
3. Be willing to remain resolute, despite minor incoveniences, or income constraints.
4. Commit these qualities to every person you come in contact with.
The time is short. The task is gigantic. But our latent strength is unparalled, -- if we choose to use it. This fight is "We the People" vs. the Federal government. One of these will win.
We are NOT in a fight of left vs. right, R vs. D, or black vs. white. This is a fight to maintain the freedom to dissent. The traditional 3 branches of Government are currently colluding to wrest power from the American People, creating a facist regime bent on world domination.
Our ONLY respite is to energize the FOURTH branch of government, "The PEOPLE" to take back those powers that were delegated by us to them, by reason of their refusal to adhere to the Constitution.
We do this by non-compliance on every level; NOT just a few zealots who are glutton for punishment, but as a "body politic", in unity. First with voices, then with our labor, our taxes, and if need be, our arms.
We are at stage 1. Our voices are being heard in tea parties nationwide, & the polling places. But this fight could be over and lost by waiting to elect a new President. Therefore, our voices must be evermore LOUD.
In times future, you will be called upon for labor strikes, and sit downs; (get used to it!) Also, our tax Dollars must be wrest from their ability to automatically TAKE our money from us by the IRS (fica).
The income tax must GO! -- convenient for now, but absolutely critical for the future, if we are to de-fund the despots! I call on EVERY ONE of you, to DEMAND the FairTax, in every venue and to every person, so that our tax Dollars go directly to THE STATES (to withhold it), rather than Washington DC.
This kind of control will break the back of facism, by starving it into submission (to the people). In this respect, it can be seen that FairTax is not a "nice idea", but a necessary weapon to keep our freedom.
YOU MUST:
1. Learn your Constitution.
2. Understand the power of the FairTax to YOU (www.FairTax.org).
3. Be willing to remain resolute, despite minor incoveniences, or income constraints.
4. Commit these qualities to every person you come in contact with.
The time is short. The task is gigantic. But our latent strength is unparalled, -- if we choose to use it. This fight is "We the People" vs. the Federal government. One of these will win.
Friday, April 3, 2009
JOIN THE TEA PARTIES
There has been much discussion among the Fairtaxers whether or not to join the Tea Parties on April 15th. What better place to express our freedoms and make the FairTax known to the entire nation?
Freedom and Fairtax go together. Get out there and tell the world there is a better way. Wear your Fairtax shirts, hats, pins and hand out your information. Educate these people and the media that we have the solution to our economic woes.
Below is a portion of a letter written by Jeff Locke, a FairTax Volunteer:
What does this country really need?
• A stimulus for all of us! What is more stimulating than our whole paycheck?
• Employment, jobs and a robust economy! No more business taxes means businesses produce cheaper products creating more sales and more jobs for us and our children coming out of college.
• A system that assures everyone pays for medical care, and police and fire protection!! The FairTax assures everyone pays their fair share.
• Save the family farm or business for our children and assure that our retirement and estate remains ours!! The FairTax lets everyone keep all savings and investments and assets.
• And get rid of America’s abomination, the IRS.
Again, stay the course and demand Washington pass HR 25, S 296 and all the financial system ails disappear. All of the ideas I have heard take money to research, study and time to write. Then negotiations and bickering will be needed to create a final bill. When will all of this happen with our present distractions in Washington?
The FairTax needs nothing. It is already researched, studied, written, approved by economists and ready for a vote. Let’s demand that of Washington until we get it. Scream about that at those tea parties.
STAY THE COURSE.
Freedom and Fairtax go together. Get out there and tell the world there is a better way. Wear your Fairtax shirts, hats, pins and hand out your information. Educate these people and the media that we have the solution to our economic woes.
Below is a portion of a letter written by Jeff Locke, a FairTax Volunteer:
What does this country really need?
• A stimulus for all of us! What is more stimulating than our whole paycheck?
• Employment, jobs and a robust economy! No more business taxes means businesses produce cheaper products creating more sales and more jobs for us and our children coming out of college.
• A system that assures everyone pays for medical care, and police and fire protection!! The FairTax assures everyone pays their fair share.
• Save the family farm or business for our children and assure that our retirement and estate remains ours!! The FairTax lets everyone keep all savings and investments and assets.
• And get rid of America’s abomination, the IRS.
Again, stay the course and demand Washington pass HR 25, S 296 and all the financial system ails disappear. All of the ideas I have heard take money to research, study and time to write. Then negotiations and bickering will be needed to create a final bill. When will all of this happen with our present distractions in Washington?
The FairTax needs nothing. It is already researched, studied, written, approved by economists and ready for a vote. Let’s demand that of Washington until we get it. Scream about that at those tea parties.
STAY THE COURSE.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
FAIRTAX TO BE DISCUSSED IN CONGRESS
The following letter came from Tom Freeman, a FairTax supporter:
Representative Steve King (IA-5) is requesting an hour for Special Orders at the end of the legislative day on this Tuesday, March 17 to discuss the FairTax. The time is anticipated to be around 6 PM. As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, I respectfully request that you give this address your special attention. The FairTax is the right Federal tax reform for everyone in the United States. It is also the most stimulative action the Congress can enact.
Additionally, Congressman King noted in his January 12, 2009 press release: Implementing the FairTax would immediately eliminate tax barriers that presently hurt American companies and favor production abroad over production here in America. Right now, when American companies export their products overseas, they must pay payroll taxes, embedded taxes and compliance costs to the IRS, and then compete directly with foreign manufacturers who do not pay these taxes.
Our current income tax system puts American products at a disadvantage on the world market and makes American products more expensive than their competitors in foreign markets. With the FairTax, American producers will no longer be forced to pass on embedded costs to foreign customers.
I respectfully request that a vigorous debate about the FairTax be the most important issue the House Ways and Means Committee addresses this year.
I presume the 6pm time is Eastern Daylight time. Please contact your representatives in Congress and ask them to be present to support this effort by Rep. King.
Representative Steve King (IA-5) is requesting an hour for Special Orders at the end of the legislative day on this Tuesday, March 17 to discuss the FairTax. The time is anticipated to be around 6 PM. As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, I respectfully request that you give this address your special attention. The FairTax is the right Federal tax reform for everyone in the United States. It is also the most stimulative action the Congress can enact.
Additionally, Congressman King noted in his January 12, 2009 press release: Implementing the FairTax would immediately eliminate tax barriers that presently hurt American companies and favor production abroad over production here in America. Right now, when American companies export their products overseas, they must pay payroll taxes, embedded taxes and compliance costs to the IRS, and then compete directly with foreign manufacturers who do not pay these taxes.
Our current income tax system puts American products at a disadvantage on the world market and makes American products more expensive than their competitors in foreign markets. With the FairTax, American producers will no longer be forced to pass on embedded costs to foreign customers.
I respectfully request that a vigorous debate about the FairTax be the most important issue the House Ways and Means Committee addresses this year.
I presume the 6pm time is Eastern Daylight time. Please contact your representatives in Congress and ask them to be present to support this effort by Rep. King.
Monday, February 23, 2009
ORGANIZE A MARCH FOR THE FAIRTAX
Following is a letter from Gary Anderson, a FairTax volunteer, admonishing us all that now is the time to get out there and march for the FairTax. Do it for yourself:
What does "Critical Mass" look like?
Well, is it like "Pandora's Box"? Or "St. Elmo's Fire"? If (when) the FairTax has reached critical mass, will it tap us on the sholder and say, "Ahem!", or just mow us over in growth? I suppose it depends on what speed you're moving at. As proof, logon to Michelle Malkin's site and hear about four protests in four days, and more coming as I speak. Seattle, Mesa, AZ, Denver, Kansas City, and soon Chicago, L.A. and Atlanta; IT'S HAPPENING, and you don't even realize it. Try "ReTeaParty.com" and Google "tea party".
FairTaxers may be bowled over by their own issue, and only a few are moving with the flow. As example, see this article in IBD today, in which (some) FairTaxers are doing the work to make a difference:
http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=16&issue=20090220
THERE ARE genuine FairTaxers who are VERY hip to what's happening in this groundswell. And if you're waiting for it to happen, maybe it's because it's passing you by. I have been increasingly upset by this "spirit of control" surfacing within FairTax, where we sheepishly wait for "permission" to act, that has an effect of a brakeshoe to the grassroots movement. Everywhere I look there are Americans who are Mad as H---, and doing things with hundreds of boots on the ground. but some of us are still busy setting up booths. April 15th is going to be a great kick in the A-- for FairTax, but not so much as the July 4th march, in several cities simultaneously, and soon up Pennsylvania Avenue.
IF FairTaxers fail to take their rightful place in these marches, we only pave a path for "other tax plans" that will NOT WORK. Get UP, Get Educated to what's going on, and Get OUT there, to LEAD these maddend masses. 90% of them don't know what they want, and if WE don't tell them, it will derail Fairtax, perhaps forever. NOW is the time, to show them the "premiere" tax plan that will cure the ills they can discern, yet not define.
DO NOT wait for an official FairTax "sanctioned" event, with all the Who's Whos to WOW you! YOU are the FairTax! YOU get downtown on April 15th, and lead them in the way they should go. YOU promote other marches in other cities, and YOU fill the web with your presence (as well as your personal presence).
Some of these groups protest the Fed, or free elections, and even the right to assemble: Pay no mind of what issue they shout about, they're shouting for YOU to guide them. BE THERE with your banner, and they will appear as a FairTax army behind YOU! NOW is critical mass, and it's erupting all across this land! If you don't see it-- you just missed it.
Gary R. Anderson
What does "Critical Mass" look like?
Well, is it like "Pandora's Box"? Or "St. Elmo's Fire"? If (when) the FairTax has reached critical mass, will it tap us on the sholder and say, "Ahem!", or just mow us over in growth? I suppose it depends on what speed you're moving at. As proof, logon to Michelle Malkin's site and hear about four protests in four days, and more coming as I speak. Seattle, Mesa, AZ, Denver, Kansas City, and soon Chicago, L.A. and Atlanta; IT'S HAPPENING, and you don't even realize it. Try "ReTeaParty.com" and Google "tea party".
FairTaxers may be bowled over by their own issue, and only a few are moving with the flow. As example, see this article in IBD today, in which (some) FairTaxers are doing the work to make a difference:
http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=16&issue=20090220
THERE ARE genuine FairTaxers who are VERY hip to what's happening in this groundswell. And if you're waiting for it to happen, maybe it's because it's passing you by. I have been increasingly upset by this "spirit of control" surfacing within FairTax, where we sheepishly wait for "permission" to act, that has an effect of a brakeshoe to the grassroots movement. Everywhere I look there are Americans who are Mad as H---, and doing things with hundreds of boots on the ground. but some of us are still busy setting up booths. April 15th is going to be a great kick in the A-- for FairTax, but not so much as the July 4th march, in several cities simultaneously, and soon up Pennsylvania Avenue.
IF FairTaxers fail to take their rightful place in these marches, we only pave a path for "other tax plans" that will NOT WORK. Get UP, Get Educated to what's going on, and Get OUT there, to LEAD these maddend masses. 90% of them don't know what they want, and if WE don't tell them, it will derail Fairtax, perhaps forever. NOW is the time, to show them the "premiere" tax plan that will cure the ills they can discern, yet not define.
DO NOT wait for an official FairTax "sanctioned" event, with all the Who's Whos to WOW you! YOU are the FairTax! YOU get downtown on April 15th, and lead them in the way they should go. YOU promote other marches in other cities, and YOU fill the web with your presence (as well as your personal presence).
Some of these groups protest the Fed, or free elections, and even the right to assemble: Pay no mind of what issue they shout about, they're shouting for YOU to guide them. BE THERE with your banner, and they will appear as a FairTax army behind YOU! NOW is critical mass, and it's erupting all across this land! If you don't see it-- you just missed it.
Gary R. Anderson
Monday, February 9, 2009
GREAT U-TUBE FAIRTAX COMMERCIALS
Here are some great FairTax commercials shown on U-Tube, produced by Paul Wizikowski, a FairTax supporter. They are very short and really make their point. I wish we could see them on Network TV:
FairTaxHub "Less" : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se7-smPLydI
FairTaxHub "Collected": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JGj85npt-c
FairTaxHub "How Much?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3OaIA_Of1s
FairTaxHub "Her": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBUkeiTX4Ek
FairTaxHub "How it works": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2yt5gQsmHg&feature=channel_page
If these links don't work, let me know and I will contact Paul to see how I can do this better. THESE ARE GREAT!
FairTaxHub "Less" : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se7-smPLydI
FairTaxHub "Collected": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JGj85npt-c
FairTaxHub "How Much?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3OaIA_Of1s
FairTaxHub "Her": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBUkeiTX4Ek
FairTaxHub "How it works": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2yt5gQsmHg&feature=channel_page
If these links don't work, let me know and I will contact Paul to see how I can do this better. THESE ARE GREAT!
Friday, January 16, 2009
NEW SECTION OF HR25
SEC. 401. ELIMINATION OF SALES TAX IF SIXTEENTH AMENDMENT NOT REPEALED.
If the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is not repealed before the end of the 7-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, then all provisions of, and amendments made by, this Act shall not apply to any use or consumption in any year beginning after December 31 of the calendar year in which or with which such period ends, except that the Sales Tax Bureau of the Department of the Treasury shall not be terminated until 6 months after such December 31.
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This is supposed to make our Congress more comfortable with the FairTax, which we sorely need this year to get us out of this horrible economic hole they have gotten us into. This has been a bi-partisan effort to bring our country down economically and make us more dependent than ever on "government". Now let's "hope" for a bi-partisan effort to boost our economy back up and make it more prosperous than ever, with the FairTax.
Keep on writing, calling or faxing your congressman until they finally get the picture - it's not about them, it's about the economy. And about the survival of our country.
If the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is not repealed before the end of the 7-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, then all provisions of, and amendments made by, this Act shall not apply to any use or consumption in any year beginning after December 31 of the calendar year in which or with which such period ends, except that the Sales Tax Bureau of the Department of the Treasury shall not be terminated until 6 months after such December 31.
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This is supposed to make our Congress more comfortable with the FairTax, which we sorely need this year to get us out of this horrible economic hole they have gotten us into. This has been a bi-partisan effort to bring our country down economically and make us more dependent than ever on "government". Now let's "hope" for a bi-partisan effort to boost our economy back up and make it more prosperous than ever, with the FairTax.
Keep on writing, calling or faxing your congressman until they finally get the picture - it's not about them, it's about the economy. And about the survival of our country.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
MAKE SOME NOISE
I just read about the Grassroots Freedom Rides, a motorcycle group who is touring the country to promote the FairTax
You can make a pledge to contribute so much per mile and 80% of the collections will go to support the efforts of Fairtaxers all over the country to help them in their efforts to inform and enthuse the public about the FairTax. Following is a portion of their Mission Statement from their website.
Mission Statement
To generate enthusiasm, give a voice and fund raising assistance to grass root supporters in the FairTax movement throughout the nation, through motorcycle enthusiasts and those who support them. We seek to "Make Some Noise" so that we're heard throughout the USA. We seek to synergize the time, talent and treasure of FairTax grass roots supporters by organizing a financial support system for the great ideas generated by this wonderful group of people to educate their fellow citizens about the FairTax.
Please visit their website to view the rest of their mission statement, pictures of their motorcycles, etc. and how to make a pledge to this worthy cause.
You can make a pledge to contribute so much per mile and 80% of the collections will go to support the efforts of Fairtaxers all over the country to help them in their efforts to inform and enthuse the public about the FairTax. Following is a portion of their Mission Statement from their website.
Mission Statement
To generate enthusiasm, give a voice and fund raising assistance to grass root supporters in the FairTax movement throughout the nation, through motorcycle enthusiasts and those who support them. We seek to "Make Some Noise" so that we're heard throughout the USA. We seek to synergize the time, talent and treasure of FairTax grass roots supporters by organizing a financial support system for the great ideas generated by this wonderful group of people to educate their fellow citizens about the FairTax.
Please visit their website to view the rest of their mission statement, pictures of their motorcycles, etc. and how to make a pledge to this worthy cause.
Friday, December 5, 2008
THE FAIRTAX IS NEEDED NOW
The FairTax is needed NOW, to dig us out of this economic morrass. It would solve our economic problems, put Social Security and Medicare back on solid ground, bring trillions of dollars in off-shore money back to America and solve the problems of corporate America, including unemployment.
I don't want to see our country become a third world country because Congress turns up its nose at "change". "Change" to the FairTax and their will again be "Hope."
I don't want to see our country become a third world country because Congress turns up its nose at "change". "Change" to the FairTax and their will again be "Hope."
Friday, August 8, 2008
TRANSITION FROM INCOME TAX TO FAIRTAX
Below is an excerpt from an e-mail from a FairTax volunteer:
Under frequently asked questions on the FT website, the question "What do we experience in the transition from the income tax to the FairTax?" is No. 46. The reply is:
Everyone will have to think about taxes in a different way. Income -- what we earn -- no longer has to be documented, measured, and tracked for tax purposes. The only relevant measure of our tax liability is the amount we choose to spend on final, discretionary consumption. Tax-related issues are suddenly a lot simpler and more straightforward than they used to be. The aggravation and anxiety associated with “April 15th ” disappears forever after passage of the FairTax. The FairTax is not new -- most Americans come into contact with sales taxes daily, since 45 states currently use them to collect state revenues. It is easier to switch from an income tax to the FairTax system than it is to switch from gallons to liters, or from feet to meters! Of course, those who depend on the structure and complexity of our current system (e.g., tax lobbyists, tax preparers, and tax shelter promoters) will have to find more productive economic pursuits. However, everyone will have enough advance notice to adjust to the new system.
Job creation booms. Residential real estate booms. Financial services boom. Exports boom. Retail prospers. Farming and ranching prosper. Churches and charities prosper. Civil liberties are enhanced. In short, it is difficult to imagine the far-reaching, positive effects of this change. Though this tax policy is exactly what our Founding Fathers counseled us to do with the Federalist Papers and the Constitution.
Under frequently asked questions on the FT website, the question "What do we experience in the transition from the income tax to the FairTax?" is No. 46. The reply is:
Everyone will have to think about taxes in a different way. Income -- what we earn -- no longer has to be documented, measured, and tracked for tax purposes. The only relevant measure of our tax liability is the amount we choose to spend on final, discretionary consumption. Tax-related issues are suddenly a lot simpler and more straightforward than they used to be. The aggravation and anxiety associated with “April 15th ” disappears forever after passage of the FairTax. The FairTax is not new -- most Americans come into contact with sales taxes daily, since 45 states currently use them to collect state revenues. It is easier to switch from an income tax to the FairTax system than it is to switch from gallons to liters, or from feet to meters! Of course, those who depend on the structure and complexity of our current system (e.g., tax lobbyists, tax preparers, and tax shelter promoters) will have to find more productive economic pursuits. However, everyone will have enough advance notice to adjust to the new system.
Job creation booms. Residential real estate booms. Financial services boom. Exports boom. Retail prospers. Farming and ranching prosper. Churches and charities prosper. Civil liberties are enhanced. In short, it is difficult to imagine the far-reaching, positive effects of this change. Though this tax policy is exactly what our Founding Fathers counseled us to do with the Federalist Papers and the Constitution.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
IT'LL NEVER HAPPEN? I THINK IT WILL..........
This was presented to the East Tennessee Libertarian group on May 13th. It was an adaptation of an article by our own John Linder. Perhaps this will help some of you in presenting the FairTax.
Upon telling folks about the FairTax bill, they frequently say, “It’ll never happen.” This has been the common reaction to every big idea ever proposed in the history of man. If the FairTax plan is such a great idea, if it is much needed, then why will it never happen?
Have we become so cynical that we cannot believe that much-needed change is possible?
Have we come to accept the current tax code as a permanent, immutable part of our lives?
The FairTax bill would repeal all corporate and individual income taxes, payroll taxes, self-employment taxes, capital gains taxes, death taxes and gift taxes. They would be replaced with a revenue-neutral, 23% personal consumption tax. Americans would receive their entire paycheck. They would have the power to choose exactly when and how much to pay in taxes. It is in keeping with Libertarian thinking that all taxes should be voluntary and that government should not have the power to confiscate our earnings.
The FairTax achieves this by offering to every household of American citizens a tax prebate. The prebate will amount to 23% of the money they spend up to the poverty level. Families that spend only to buy basic necessities will be tax free because the prebate will cover their taxes every month. When a rich man decides to buy a new private jet 23% of the purchase price will enter the federal treasury. America will return to taxing wealth instead of wages.
There are many reasons why changing the way we fund our federal government is necessary. Here are three of the most compelling:
1) Our current code is taxing American businesses into a severe disadvantage in competing in the global economy. Because of corporate, personal and payroll taxes our businesses have a 22% embedded tax in every good they produce. Foreign goods do not have this burden and so have a leg up on American industries. The FairTax will give our industries the best business cost structure in the world.
2) Our current code punishes productivity. On average, Americans lose 33% of their wages to taxation. The FairTax will unleash the power of the American worker and greatly increase their spendable income.
3) Our current code violates the right to privacy of Americans. The FairTax will restore the privilege of anonymity long cherished but long denied. Under the FairTax, there will be no more IRS and no reason for the government to know how much you earn and how you spend it.
Change should be a no-brainer, but the current system is perceived as a constant that has always been and always will be. The reality is that following the 1894 Supreme Court decision declaring an income tax unconstitutional, it took politicians 19 years to contrive and have ratified the 16th amendment in 1913. Subsequently, Congress adopted a simple tax code that permitted only a small flat tax on the very wealthy. This was the beginning of the monstrosity of a code that suffocates American liberty today.
We can only wonder how many people in 1894 when they heard the idea of an income tax said, “Bad idea, but it’ll never happen.” How many people hearing in 1895 that all senior citizens would be provided a government pension said, “Great idea, but it’ll never happen.” The Social Security program we have today began in 1896 as the Civil War Pension program. As all entitlement programs are wont to do, it grew and evolved until it was signed into law as the Social Security Act in 1935.
The FairTax bill was introduced in Congress in 1999. It is a big idea and big ideas take time to establish. Gaining momentum is the greatest challenge to the enactment of the FairTax bill, and there is no greater momentum killer than Congress. The only antidote to the failure of Congress to act is to let them know the will of the overwhelming majority of American voters. In just nine years, a grass-roots force of over a million FairTax supporters has been mobilized. FairTax rallies of over 10,000 Americans have been held, and 72 members of Congress have been persuaded to co-sponsor the FairTax bill. Most Americans have not heard of the FairTax bill and most politicians probably have not read the bill. Only by spreading the word on it will the FairTax bill be passed.
Ronald Reagan touched on the greatness of our country when he stated that the American people have always had the capacity “to do whatever needs to be done to preserve this greatest bastion of freedom.” We will do this; we will do it because we must if we are to preserve the greatness that generations before us created. In closing, to those of you out there who say, “great idea, it will never happen,” imagine the dinner table talk when John Kennedy told America we were going to send men to the moon.
Upon telling folks about the FairTax bill, they frequently say, “It’ll never happen.” This has been the common reaction to every big idea ever proposed in the history of man. If the FairTax plan is such a great idea, if it is much needed, then why will it never happen?
Have we become so cynical that we cannot believe that much-needed change is possible?
Have we come to accept the current tax code as a permanent, immutable part of our lives?
The FairTax bill would repeal all corporate and individual income taxes, payroll taxes, self-employment taxes, capital gains taxes, death taxes and gift taxes. They would be replaced with a revenue-neutral, 23% personal consumption tax. Americans would receive their entire paycheck. They would have the power to choose exactly when and how much to pay in taxes. It is in keeping with Libertarian thinking that all taxes should be voluntary and that government should not have the power to confiscate our earnings.
The FairTax achieves this by offering to every household of American citizens a tax prebate. The prebate will amount to 23% of the money they spend up to the poverty level. Families that spend only to buy basic necessities will be tax free because the prebate will cover their taxes every month. When a rich man decides to buy a new private jet 23% of the purchase price will enter the federal treasury. America will return to taxing wealth instead of wages.
There are many reasons why changing the way we fund our federal government is necessary. Here are three of the most compelling:
1) Our current code is taxing American businesses into a severe disadvantage in competing in the global economy. Because of corporate, personal and payroll taxes our businesses have a 22% embedded tax in every good they produce. Foreign goods do not have this burden and so have a leg up on American industries. The FairTax will give our industries the best business cost structure in the world.
2) Our current code punishes productivity. On average, Americans lose 33% of their wages to taxation. The FairTax will unleash the power of the American worker and greatly increase their spendable income.
3) Our current code violates the right to privacy of Americans. The FairTax will restore the privilege of anonymity long cherished but long denied. Under the FairTax, there will be no more IRS and no reason for the government to know how much you earn and how you spend it.
Change should be a no-brainer, but the current system is perceived as a constant that has always been and always will be. The reality is that following the 1894 Supreme Court decision declaring an income tax unconstitutional, it took politicians 19 years to contrive and have ratified the 16th amendment in 1913. Subsequently, Congress adopted a simple tax code that permitted only a small flat tax on the very wealthy. This was the beginning of the monstrosity of a code that suffocates American liberty today.
We can only wonder how many people in 1894 when they heard the idea of an income tax said, “Bad idea, but it’ll never happen.” How many people hearing in 1895 that all senior citizens would be provided a government pension said, “Great idea, but it’ll never happen.” The Social Security program we have today began in 1896 as the Civil War Pension program. As all entitlement programs are wont to do, it grew and evolved until it was signed into law as the Social Security Act in 1935.
The FairTax bill was introduced in Congress in 1999. It is a big idea and big ideas take time to establish. Gaining momentum is the greatest challenge to the enactment of the FairTax bill, and there is no greater momentum killer than Congress. The only antidote to the failure of Congress to act is to let them know the will of the overwhelming majority of American voters. In just nine years, a grass-roots force of over a million FairTax supporters has been mobilized. FairTax rallies of over 10,000 Americans have been held, and 72 members of Congress have been persuaded to co-sponsor the FairTax bill. Most Americans have not heard of the FairTax bill and most politicians probably have not read the bill. Only by spreading the word on it will the FairTax bill be passed.
Ronald Reagan touched on the greatness of our country when he stated that the American people have always had the capacity “to do whatever needs to be done to preserve this greatest bastion of freedom.” We will do this; we will do it because we must if we are to preserve the greatness that generations before us created. In closing, to those of you out there who say, “great idea, it will never happen,” imagine the dinner table talk when John Kennedy told America we were going to send men to the moon.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
THE SAME OLD DIVISIVE POLITICS
An excellent picture of what is going on today with politicians and taxes, submitted by a FairTax Volunteer:
POLITICIANS ONLY GIVE LIP SERVICE TO TAX REFORM
“There you go again.” At a recent presidential debate, this statement made famous by Ronald Reagan, should have been directed to both Senator Obama and Senator Clinton when each of them spoke of changing the tax code to penalize some groups and give relief to others. Both were campaigning on the promise of unifying Americans and changing the way business is done in Washington DC. As far as promoting unity, using changes in the tax code to favor one voting bloc while punishing another is a divisive tactic which has long been a staple policy of the Washington DC establishment. Thus, in one breath they champion unity and change and in their next they propose doing business the same old way. Witness the fact that our congresses have made some 16,000 changes in the tax code in the last 24 years! These changes have simply been a “carrot and stick” approach by republican and democratic legislators to win votes and increase their power to control their constituents. Obama and McCain have proven themselves by their own proposals, viz. change the tax code, to be part of the same old approach to solving America’s problems. If they were sincere they would promote the passage of the FairTax bill. This would unify Americans under a system that would eliminate income taxes and the 16th amendment. This system would fund the government at its current or higher level and be simple, transparent, and fair to every American. We need to demand that all of our candidates and congressmen first educate themselves and their constituents on the FairTax bill and then take a stand on it. All of our legislators need to make a fair and truthful evaluation of the FairTax Bill and stop giving only lip service to tax reform.
Imagine what a boost the American economy would experience if taxpayers were handed a virtual $400-billion-per-year tax cut! This amount of extra money in our pockets would work to grow the economy. Further imagine that even with this virtual tax cut, the government would continue to be funded at its current level. The treasury would merely have to collect federal taxes by a simpler, more transparent, and fairer system than that of our current tax code. The Fair Tax bills before Congress would replace the IRS with just such a system.
To look at the money spent just to comply with the current tax code from the point of view of its purchasing power, I will quote the report of President Bush’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform published in late 2005. The report states that the money spent by Americans filling out their tax forms would fund “the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, NASA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, the United States Congress, our federal courts, and all of the federal government’s foreign aid.”
This same advisory panel noted that widespread noncompliance costs each honest taxpayer an extra $2000 in taxes yearly. It further notes that due to the arbitrariness of the code increasing your income by 50% can increase your tax burden by 140%. It shows that marginal income tax rates can now rise over 30% for a family earning just $30,000 per year. That’s does not include the 15% payroll tax. A 45% marginal rate on a $30,000 yearly income is happening today! This comes straight from the advisory panel experts. Who in his right mind can prefer the current system to the 23% Fair Tax?
POLITICIANS ONLY GIVE LIP SERVICE TO TAX REFORM
“There you go again.” At a recent presidential debate, this statement made famous by Ronald Reagan, should have been directed to both Senator Obama and Senator Clinton when each of them spoke of changing the tax code to penalize some groups and give relief to others. Both were campaigning on the promise of unifying Americans and changing the way business is done in Washington DC. As far as promoting unity, using changes in the tax code to favor one voting bloc while punishing another is a divisive tactic which has long been a staple policy of the Washington DC establishment. Thus, in one breath they champion unity and change and in their next they propose doing business the same old way. Witness the fact that our congresses have made some 16,000 changes in the tax code in the last 24 years! These changes have simply been a “carrot and stick” approach by republican and democratic legislators to win votes and increase their power to control their constituents. Obama and McCain have proven themselves by their own proposals, viz. change the tax code, to be part of the same old approach to solving America’s problems. If they were sincere they would promote the passage of the FairTax bill. This would unify Americans under a system that would eliminate income taxes and the 16th amendment. This system would fund the government at its current or higher level and be simple, transparent, and fair to every American. We need to demand that all of our candidates and congressmen first educate themselves and their constituents on the FairTax bill and then take a stand on it. All of our legislators need to make a fair and truthful evaluation of the FairTax Bill and stop giving only lip service to tax reform.
Imagine what a boost the American economy would experience if taxpayers were handed a virtual $400-billion-per-year tax cut! This amount of extra money in our pockets would work to grow the economy. Further imagine that even with this virtual tax cut, the government would continue to be funded at its current level. The treasury would merely have to collect federal taxes by a simpler, more transparent, and fairer system than that of our current tax code. The Fair Tax bills before Congress would replace the IRS with just such a system.
To look at the money spent just to comply with the current tax code from the point of view of its purchasing power, I will quote the report of President Bush’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform published in late 2005. The report states that the money spent by Americans filling out their tax forms would fund “the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, NASA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, the United States Congress, our federal courts, and all of the federal government’s foreign aid.”
This same advisory panel noted that widespread noncompliance costs each honest taxpayer an extra $2000 in taxes yearly. It further notes that due to the arbitrariness of the code increasing your income by 50% can increase your tax burden by 140%. It shows that marginal income tax rates can now rise over 30% for a family earning just $30,000 per year. That’s does not include the 15% payroll tax. A 45% marginal rate on a $30,000 yearly income is happening today! This comes straight from the advisory panel experts. Who in his right mind can prefer the current system to the 23% Fair Tax?
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
THE COST OF PAYING INCOME TAXES
This came from a FairTax Volunteer - a good read and the hard truth...............
American tax payers bear a financial burden over and above what they pay in federal taxes. This extra burden consists in covering the tax gap and both the time and money spent to comply with the tax code. For 2001 alone the 130 million Americans who filed tax returns paid on average $2,649 extra to fill the gap created by Americans who did not pay their share. This means that the tax bills paid could have been 32.1% LOWER! These 130 million compliant tax payers paid on average $8,265when they should have paid only their fair share of $5,616.
The compliance burden hangs like a huge stone around the necks of all tax payers. It consists of all the time and money wasted on filling out forms, maintaining records, studying tax rules and other tax-related chores. Since 1913 the tax code has grown from 400 pages to over 67,000. In 2005 individuals, businesses, and non-profits spent 6 billion hours and over $265.1 billion to comply with the tax code. The hours spent represent a work force larger than the combined populations of Dallas, Detroit, and Washington DC and more than the total of workers employed in the auto, computer manufacturing, airline manufacturing, and steel industries.
Compliance costs are very regressive, hitting the poorest hardest. Adjusted gross incomes of less than $20,000 pay 5.8% of income while those of over $200,000 pay only 0.45%.
Small businesses bear an unfair burden in compliance costs. As far back as 1991 corporations with under $1 million or less in assets (90% of all corporations) paid $382 in compliance costs for every $100 they paid in income taxes. Corporations with $250 million or more in assets paid about $3 in compliance costs for each $100 paid in income taxes. In 2004 the average American business taxpayer spent $894 per employee on tax compliance activities, but small employers (less than 20 employees) spent $1,304 per employee.
The compliance costs for the private sector are 30 times what the compliance expenses of the IRS are.
The FairTax plan in Congress would slash compliance costs. It would decrease the number of tax filers by 80%. The replacement of the income tax with a national retail sales tax would reduce compliance costs by 95%. This would reduce the cost of doing business and lower the prices of goods while enabling businesses to hire more workers and pay higher wages. It is a cruel hoax when politicians say they are going to raise taxes on businesses. The result of this is to decrease employment and wages and raise the prices businesses charge to the consumers of their products and services.
American tax payers bear a financial burden over and above what they pay in federal taxes. This extra burden consists in covering the tax gap and both the time and money spent to comply with the tax code. For 2001 alone the 130 million Americans who filed tax returns paid on average $2,649 extra to fill the gap created by Americans who did not pay their share. This means that the tax bills paid could have been 32.1% LOWER! These 130 million compliant tax payers paid on average $8,265when they should have paid only their fair share of $5,616.
The compliance burden hangs like a huge stone around the necks of all tax payers. It consists of all the time and money wasted on filling out forms, maintaining records, studying tax rules and other tax-related chores. Since 1913 the tax code has grown from 400 pages to over 67,000. In 2005 individuals, businesses, and non-profits spent 6 billion hours and over $265.1 billion to comply with the tax code. The hours spent represent a work force larger than the combined populations of Dallas, Detroit, and Washington DC and more than the total of workers employed in the auto, computer manufacturing, airline manufacturing, and steel industries.
Compliance costs are very regressive, hitting the poorest hardest. Adjusted gross incomes of less than $20,000 pay 5.8% of income while those of over $200,000 pay only 0.45%.
Small businesses bear an unfair burden in compliance costs. As far back as 1991 corporations with under $1 million or less in assets (90% of all corporations) paid $382 in compliance costs for every $100 they paid in income taxes. Corporations with $250 million or more in assets paid about $3 in compliance costs for each $100 paid in income taxes. In 2004 the average American business taxpayer spent $894 per employee on tax compliance activities, but small employers (less than 20 employees) spent $1,304 per employee.
The compliance costs for the private sector are 30 times what the compliance expenses of the IRS are.
The FairTax plan in Congress would slash compliance costs. It would decrease the number of tax filers by 80%. The replacement of the income tax with a national retail sales tax would reduce compliance costs by 95%. This would reduce the cost of doing business and lower the prices of goods while enabling businesses to hire more workers and pay higher wages. It is a cruel hoax when politicians say they are going to raise taxes on businesses. The result of this is to decrease employment and wages and raise the prices businesses charge to the consumers of their products and services.
Friday, June 20, 2008
WHO GETS THE FICA DEDUCTIONS? EMPLOYER OR EMPLOYEE?
Here is some interesting correspondence between a couple of FairTax Volunteers:
I have always been assuming that we would see a 7.5% increase in take home pay with the FairTax due to no personal deductions for Fica and Medicare. The employer would seem a reduction in payroll costs of the same amount for their contribution as well as unemployment.
I see detractors saying that the employees would see a reduction in their wages. Are they considering the employer contribution to be part of the employees "wages" instead of a tax the employer pays?
Daniel P. Alston, DDS, PC
Dan,
I agree with your assessment (we will get a 7.5% increase in take home pay)
at least for the short term after the FairTax goes into effect.
There is no feature of the current FairTax Bill that would compel any other outcome.
Without such a feature both the employer and employee will get to keep their respective portions of FICA and MediCare taxes as well as the Income taxes.
Employers will try and keep the eliminated taxes as additional profits, however market forces will drive them to cut prices the 5% or so that these taxes add to the selling price of their products.
The mythical 21% price deduction that Neal Borts talks about so much relies on
the business keeping all of the tax reductions of both the business and the
employees. That flat out will not happen. We will have more money in our pockets
that we will need to spend to pay the FairTax added on to the slightly lower prices.
It's not a Free Lunch. Most people will end up with nearly identical standards of
living(consumption). Some at the low end of the income scale will benefit some
will pay more. Those that have no savings and are living hand to mouth will benefit
due to the prebate. Those that are living well off of savings and have no income
will likely pay more (the retired Rich). The retired living modestly with some savings will not be affected much due to the gross up in SS benefits and Prebate. Those currently borrowing to finance an extravagant lifestyle (currently tax free) will be hit hard by the FairTax. High earners accumulating wealth by saving and investing will benefit most.
I believe these effects are as they should be protecting the weak, rewarding the builders and punishing the takers.
Ron Woodward, PE
Yorktown, VA
I have always been assuming that we would see a 7.5% increase in take home pay with the FairTax due to no personal deductions for Fica and Medicare. The employer would seem a reduction in payroll costs of the same amount for their contribution as well as unemployment.
I see detractors saying that the employees would see a reduction in their wages. Are they considering the employer contribution to be part of the employees "wages" instead of a tax the employer pays?
Daniel P. Alston, DDS, PC
Dan,
I agree with your assessment (we will get a 7.5% increase in take home pay)
at least for the short term after the FairTax goes into effect.
There is no feature of the current FairTax Bill that would compel any other outcome.
Without such a feature both the employer and employee will get to keep their respective portions of FICA and MediCare taxes as well as the Income taxes.
Employers will try and keep the eliminated taxes as additional profits, however market forces will drive them to cut prices the 5% or so that these taxes add to the selling price of their products.
The mythical 21% price deduction that Neal Borts talks about so much relies on
the business keeping all of the tax reductions of both the business and the
employees. That flat out will not happen. We will have more money in our pockets
that we will need to spend to pay the FairTax added on to the slightly lower prices.
It's not a Free Lunch. Most people will end up with nearly identical standards of
living(consumption). Some at the low end of the income scale will benefit some
will pay more. Those that have no savings and are living hand to mouth will benefit
due to the prebate. Those that are living well off of savings and have no income
will likely pay more (the retired Rich). The retired living modestly with some savings will not be affected much due to the gross up in SS benefits and Prebate. Those currently borrowing to finance an extravagant lifestyle (currently tax free) will be hit hard by the FairTax. High earners accumulating wealth by saving and investing will benefit most.
I believe these effects are as they should be protecting the weak, rewarding the builders and punishing the takers.
Ron Woodward, PE
Yorktown, VA
Monday, June 16, 2008
WAKE UP AND SMELL THE TAXES!
Or should I say "Wake up and SEE the taxes?" The following is from a FairTax Volunteer and really lays out the "hidden taxes" we pay in addition to income and payroll taxes. A good eye-opener:
Federal income taxes represent only 42 percent of the total tax burden of U.S. taxpayers. The remainder is hidden, distorting taxpayers’ awareness of their real tax burden and of the true cost of government. Only fundamental tax reform with an emphasis on visibility can ensure a fair tax code that allows taxpayers to evaluate whether they are getting their money’s worth from government.
Despite all the attention given to federal income taxes, they represent only 42 percent of the total tax burden Americans carry each year. There is at least $657.5 billion in additional “hidden” taxes—$2,642 per person—that is not visible to the taxpayers. If more Americans realized that their total tax burden equaled 56 percent of annual personal consumption spending, there might be a second Revolution.
Unlike sales taxes that appear on a cash register receipt, hidden taxes are those charges that are not expressly clear to the taxpayer. One example is fuel. The average price of a gallon of gas last August was$1.49 and 43 cents of that amount represented taxes. That 37% tax rate does not appear on your receipt. In recent years fuel taxes have become the fastest-growing federal tax imposed on middle-income Americans, amounting to $220 a person.
“Sin” taxes are also great sources of revenue. For instance, tax revenues from liquor are many times higher than the total profits of distillers. Nearly half the cost of a six-pack of beer is tax, and cigarette taxes alone will generate $45 billion through fiscal year 2005.
There are also hidden taxes on a litany of products and services ranging from inoculations to firearms to travel expenses. Almost half the cost of an $80 hotel room is tax as is 40 percent of a $159 airline ticket. And the typical monthly utility bill includes 25% tax. With the rise in telecommunications subsidies and Internet commerce, Americans will be feeling—but not necessarily seeing—even more of a tax bite.
Not all taxes are hidden in the cost of goods and services. Some are even more surreptitious. Payroll taxes, including income tax withholding, “employer share,” and unemployment and workers’ compensation taxes not only mask the true burden of paying taxes but also raise the cost of hiring workers, which in turn actually lowers wages and conceivably threatens jobs.
Payroll taxes have increased dramatically since 1937. Today over 90 percent of American workers pay more in payroll taxes (including the “employer share”) than they do in income taxes. Just since 1977, the payroll tax rate has grown by nearly one-third. And when combined with other mandated labor costs such as unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation taxes, the resulting burden actually raises the cost of hiring workers, lowers wages, and can even eliminate jobs.
When taxes are not visible, Americans are unable to evaluate whether they’re getting their money’s worth from the government. While not every hidden tax is responsible for every inequity contained in our current tax code, hidden taxes do contribute significantly to the most complex and inherently unfair system of taxation ever placed upon the American public.
Tax overhaul is imperative, but the fundamental focus of any reform must be on visibility. That’s because a hidden tax is an unknown tax, and an unknown tax is one that cannot be evaluated and judged by those who pay it. In the end, the consumer is left to wonder, How much tax did I really pay? - Read Full Report!
Source: http://www.ipi.org/ipi%5CIPIPublications.nsf/PublicationLookupFullTextPDF/3F31DF6F0D040EE986256AB700630B84/$File/PR160-HiddenTax-FINAL.pdf?OpenElement
This report makes me want to use fowl language!
Federal income taxes represent only 42 percent of the total tax burden of U.S. taxpayers. The remainder is hidden, distorting taxpayers’ awareness of their real tax burden and of the true cost of government. Only fundamental tax reform with an emphasis on visibility can ensure a fair tax code that allows taxpayers to evaluate whether they are getting their money’s worth from government.
Despite all the attention given to federal income taxes, they represent only 42 percent of the total tax burden Americans carry each year. There is at least $657.5 billion in additional “hidden” taxes—$2,642 per person—that is not visible to the taxpayers. If more Americans realized that their total tax burden equaled 56 percent of annual personal consumption spending, there might be a second Revolution.
Unlike sales taxes that appear on a cash register receipt, hidden taxes are those charges that are not expressly clear to the taxpayer. One example is fuel. The average price of a gallon of gas last August was$1.49 and 43 cents of that amount represented taxes. That 37% tax rate does not appear on your receipt. In recent years fuel taxes have become the fastest-growing federal tax imposed on middle-income Americans, amounting to $220 a person.
“Sin” taxes are also great sources of revenue. For instance, tax revenues from liquor are many times higher than the total profits of distillers. Nearly half the cost of a six-pack of beer is tax, and cigarette taxes alone will generate $45 billion through fiscal year 2005.
There are also hidden taxes on a litany of products and services ranging from inoculations to firearms to travel expenses. Almost half the cost of an $80 hotel room is tax as is 40 percent of a $159 airline ticket. And the typical monthly utility bill includes 25% tax. With the rise in telecommunications subsidies and Internet commerce, Americans will be feeling—but not necessarily seeing—even more of a tax bite.
Not all taxes are hidden in the cost of goods and services. Some are even more surreptitious. Payroll taxes, including income tax withholding, “employer share,” and unemployment and workers’ compensation taxes not only mask the true burden of paying taxes but also raise the cost of hiring workers, which in turn actually lowers wages and conceivably threatens jobs.
Payroll taxes have increased dramatically since 1937. Today over 90 percent of American workers pay more in payroll taxes (including the “employer share”) than they do in income taxes. Just since 1977, the payroll tax rate has grown by nearly one-third. And when combined with other mandated labor costs such as unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation taxes, the resulting burden actually raises the cost of hiring workers, lowers wages, and can even eliminate jobs.
When taxes are not visible, Americans are unable to evaluate whether they’re getting their money’s worth from the government. While not every hidden tax is responsible for every inequity contained in our current tax code, hidden taxes do contribute significantly to the most complex and inherently unfair system of taxation ever placed upon the American public.
Tax overhaul is imperative, but the fundamental focus of any reform must be on visibility. That’s because a hidden tax is an unknown tax, and an unknown tax is one that cannot be evaluated and judged by those who pay it. In the end, the consumer is left to wonder, How much tax did I really pay? - Read Full Report!
Source: http://www.ipi.org/ipi%5CIPIPublications.nsf/PublicationLookupFullTextPDF/3F31DF6F0D040EE986256AB700630B84/$File/PR160-HiddenTax-FINAL.pdf?OpenElement
This report makes me want to use fowl language!
Friday, May 30, 2008
TAX FREEDOM DAY IN NEW YORK
This letter came from a FairTax Volunteer in New York:
Good job! The Saturday before NY states "Tax Freedom Day", I was on a local station in Geneva, NY, WGVA 1240. Not nearly the number of listeners, however the listeners in this area of the state are fed up with payroll/income taxes, too.
My focus was on CONTROL OF OUR PAYCHECK!! By doing away with payroll taxes, the money is in OUR HANDS FIRST. Who holds the money, holds the power. Politicians have to listen to our positions on crucial issues, or we can stop BUYING and limit the tax revenues!
Prior to and during the American Revolution, the Patriots used "boycotts" to pinch the British. Our government eliminated this power with payroll tax legislation.
Taxes are economic chains of tyranny. If we have a national sales tax, and the federal government raises the tax rate without our support, consumers can reduce their purchases to slow down the flow of taxes to the Treasurey. We don't have that power now.
It is OUR GOVERNMENT, WE THE PEOPLE! The "ruling class of regulators" are out of control. Get rid of payroll/income taxes, give control of money back to the people, and watch how "FairTax Freedom" gives "true power" back to the people of the United States of America.
Spread the word,
Armand Marianetti
FairTax Freedom Volunteer, NY 29
Good job! The Saturday before NY states "Tax Freedom Day", I was on a local station in Geneva, NY, WGVA 1240. Not nearly the number of listeners, however the listeners in this area of the state are fed up with payroll/income taxes, too.
My focus was on CONTROL OF OUR PAYCHECK!! By doing away with payroll taxes, the money is in OUR HANDS FIRST. Who holds the money, holds the power. Politicians have to listen to our positions on crucial issues, or we can stop BUYING and limit the tax revenues!
Prior to and during the American Revolution, the Patriots used "boycotts" to pinch the British. Our government eliminated this power with payroll tax legislation.
Taxes are economic chains of tyranny. If we have a national sales tax, and the federal government raises the tax rate without our support, consumers can reduce their purchases to slow down the flow of taxes to the Treasurey. We don't have that power now.
It is OUR GOVERNMENT, WE THE PEOPLE! The "ruling class of regulators" are out of control. Get rid of payroll/income taxes, give control of money back to the people, and watch how "FairTax Freedom" gives "true power" back to the people of the United States of America.
Spread the word,
Armand Marianetti
FairTax Freedom Volunteer, NY 29
Thursday, May 8, 2008
WE NEED THE FAIRTAX NOW!
I obviously am not writing on a daily basis anymore. My husband is ill and my thoughts and deeds lie with him right now. From time to time I will pass on a letter from my correspondence with other FairTax supporters. Also, please read my earlier blogs. They give a simplified version of the FairTax without the extra words that go into padding an article or a book. Fast, easy reading. Feel free to comment.
The following is from a FairTax supporter regarding an article in the newspapers:
Fair Tax proposal
Regarding "Experts predicting rise in tax rates" in the April 10 Huntsville Times: The 2007 Congressional Budget Office analysis says the income tax rate would have to almost double in order to meet Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security requirements through 2050,under the current tax structure.
This is consistent with the report by trustees of the Social Security and Medicare funds.
Medicare will start negative spending in 2008 and be depleted by 2019; corresponding
dates for Social Security are 2017 and 2041, according to the March 26 Huntsville Times article titled "Social Security, Medicare face big challenges."
Further, according to an April 10 Times article, the International Monetary Fund says
America is headed for a recession.
However, since 1999, Congress has failed to act on the Fair Tax bill, HR 25, the best
solution for stimulating the economy and truly fixing our tax code.
The Fair Tax replaces federal income and payroll taxes including: personal income,
estate, gift, capital gains, alternative minimum, Social Security, Medicare,
self-employment and corporate taxes.
It is a single-rate, federal retail sales tax collected only once: at the final point of purchase of new goods and services for personal consumption.
The principles were developed by professional and university economists and accountants based upon $22 million of research, not by politicians.
(See "FairTax: The Truth,"by Neal Boortz and John Linder, or www.FairTax.org.)
I urge each reader to investigate the Fair Tax, come to some conclusions, and take the appropriate action.
Bobby L. Austin,
Huntsville, 35806
Scroll down for the article, please.
http://www.al.com/opinion/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1210151747111100.xml&coll=1
The following is from a FairTax supporter regarding an article in the newspapers:
Fair Tax proposal
Regarding "Experts predicting rise in tax rates" in the April 10 Huntsville Times: The 2007 Congressional Budget Office analysis says the income tax rate would have to almost double in order to meet Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security requirements through 2050,under the current tax structure.
This is consistent with the report by trustees of the Social Security and Medicare funds.
Medicare will start negative spending in 2008 and be depleted by 2019; corresponding
dates for Social Security are 2017 and 2041, according to the March 26 Huntsville Times article titled "Social Security, Medicare face big challenges."
Further, according to an April 10 Times article, the International Monetary Fund says
America is headed for a recession.
However, since 1999, Congress has failed to act on the Fair Tax bill, HR 25, the best
solution for stimulating the economy and truly fixing our tax code.
The Fair Tax replaces federal income and payroll taxes including: personal income,
estate, gift, capital gains, alternative minimum, Social Security, Medicare,
self-employment and corporate taxes.
It is a single-rate, federal retail sales tax collected only once: at the final point of purchase of new goods and services for personal consumption.
The principles were developed by professional and university economists and accountants based upon $22 million of research, not by politicians.
(See "FairTax: The Truth,"by Neal Boortz and John Linder, or www.FairTax.org.)
I urge each reader to investigate the Fair Tax, come to some conclusions, and take the appropriate action.
Bobby L. Austin,
Huntsville, 35806
Scroll down for the article, please.
http://www.al.com/opinion/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1210151747111100.xml&coll=1
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