Americans For Fair Taxation Stories

Congressman DesJarlais Cosponsors Fair Tax Legislation

Aaron Schutte — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 03:22:24 GMT

The Chattanoogan.com

Congressman Scott DesJarlais, MD cosponsored H.R. 25, the Fair Tax Act of 2013, introduced by Congressman Rob Woodall (GA-7).

The FairTax replaces the current income tax system with a single, national consumption tax in exchange for repealing the Sixteenth Amendment. With the passage of the FairTax, American workers will receive their full paycheck before the federal government gets a penny. It also eliminates funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) after 2017.

“The Internal Revenue Service has shown itself to be corrupt, inept and unworthy of the responsibility the agency has been entrusted with,” said Congressman DesJarlais.

“It has become abundantly clear the American people have lost faith in the IRS and want to drastically limit its power to intrude in our lives. The FairTax empowers taxpayers by allowing each citizen to control the amount of taxes he or she pays. This would create a fairer, flatter and simpler tax code for both families and businesses.”

“Replacing our broken tax code with the FairTax will unshackle America’s job creators, unburden American families, and spur an economic revolution,” said Congressman Woodall. “Across the nation, folks have been calling for the FairTax and I’m excited that momentum is growing in Washington, too.”

This article is published here.

Fair Tax would solve many problems

Ted Hruzd — Sun, 15 Jun 2014 14:50:18 GMT

Daily Record

I further expand on former state senator Ray Bateman's argument that it is poor economic policy to tax the rich to the point where they leave the state. This not only takes away state revenues from their exit but also diminishes future revenues from the jobs many rich entrepreneurs create. In the end the state suffers from punishing income taxes. Tax more income and thereby expect less of it.

New Jersey should eliminate the state income personal and corporate taxes, thereby reward success (income), encourage more of it, and subsequently grow the economy along with more revenue potential for the state. New Jersey should then closely implement, at the state level, the Fair Tax. The idea is to replace income taxes with revenue neutral consumption taxes on new products and services. This tax reform at both the state and federal level would more strongly grow the economy, add new jobs, and thereby provide governments adequate revenue sources. Annual budget deficit woes may then finally become just memories.

This article is published here.

Fairtax proposal offers simple concept, pluses

Jerry Wadel — Sun, 15 Jun 2014 14:46:52 GMT

Nevada Daily Mail

I am writing today about the income tax that we all know and hate.

First, a little history. The Constitution as originally written did not permit a tax on income and we funded our government by other means until the 16th amendment was passed in 1913, except for a short period during the Civil War and a few years following.

The founders, in their wisdom, knew that giving the federal government the power to tax income would open the floodgates for the government to begin amassing power, and so it has.

The income tax is a prominent plank in the "Communist Manifesto," written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The writers of that document knew how an income tax could be and is now used to effect social change.

The income tax is rife with special interest loopholes and exemptions for the politically connected and gives to the IRS the power to confiscate anyone's property, including your bank accounts and real property.

The income tax is now used as a means of income redistribution as much as it is to fund necessary government operations.

We are now at the point where approximately 50 percent of the people do pay income tax. Scottish advocate, judge, historian and writer Alexander Tytler wrote in the early 1800s, "Democracy can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority votes for the candidates promising the most benefits."

We are now at the tipping point when the soon-to-be majority of non-taxpayers can vote to increase the tax rate to a level that will fund government largesse to their benefit and those being taxed will suffer the consequences.

In addition to this type of taxation being repugnant to our liberties, it is grossly inefficient. Individuals and businesses spend in excess of $400 billion annually on tax preparation and compliance.

In addition, the underground economy, now estimated to exceed $1 trillion, is not taxed.

There is a far more simple and equitable system that should be adopted and that is the bill, HR-25 titled the "fairtax." The fairtax is a national retail sales tax that would fund government at the current level and would replace and end all taxes on income, including both personal and corporate income tax, Social Security and Medicare taxes, alternative minimum tax and the estate tax.

This tax would be levied on all goods and services for personal consumption.

Everything would be taxed only once, when it was sold as a new item. So if you buy a used car, there is no tax on it. A previously occupied house is not taxed nor are any of the other numerous items that can be purchased used, if you choose to live economically and save money.

Again, the tax would only be on new goods and services for you and your family's personal consumption, so there would be no tax on business expenditures. Businesses could be run on the sound principles of best business practices and not by asking the question, how will this decision affect my tax return?

All economists agree that businesses, in effect, do not pay taxes, but merely act as the collecting agent by passing the cost of those taxes on to consumers in the price of their product or service.

In addition, according to a recent Tax Foundation study, "The 'deadweight' costs, or excess burden, of the current individual income tax is not inconsequential, amounting to roughly 11 to 15 percent of total income tax revenues.

"This means that in the course of raising roughly $1 trillion in revenue through the individual income tax, an additional burden of $110 to $150 billion is imposed on taxpayers and the economy."

That is money that would remain in taxpayers' pockets if the fairtax was passed.

Economists from institutions such as Harvard, MIT, Cato Institute, and Boston University, and others, who researched this tax proposal, agreed that under the fairtax, our economy would grow at a much faster rate than under our current income tax.

The president's stimulus bill pumped nearly $1 trillion of borrowed money into the economy, money that we will be paying interest on indefinitely.

Research shows that there is approximately $13 trillion U.S. dollars sitting offshore. When asked what would happen to that money if the fairtax was passed, former Federal Reserve Chairman Allen Greenspan said much of that money would come back to the U.S. in the first year, private capital that does not entail interest charges on government borrowing.

In summation, the fairtax is simple in concept, simple and easy to comply with, grows the economy at a much faster rate, raises the same amount of revenue, eliminates the IRS and its intrusions on our liberties, makes U.S. goods much more competitive on the world market and encourages capital formation, the lifeblood of business creation and expansion...

This article is published in full here.

Republicans Have Only Themselves To Blame For Piketty And The Pope

Louis Woodhill — Fri, 16 May 2014 17:59:38 GMT

Forbes.com

...What? After denouncing Piketty’s wealth tax, a free-market, pro-growth conservative is proposing a tax on wealth? Yes, it’s called the FairTax, and it would involve the confiscation of a portion of the present value of all existing wealth.

The FairTax would be a federal retail sales tax, and it would be levied on the purchase of all new goods and services. Replacing payroll taxes, the income tax, the capital gains tax, the corporate income tax, and the death tax with a (say) 15% (inclusive) FairTax would produce explosive economic growth.

With a stable U.S. dollar and the FairTax, every big company in the world would move its headquarters to the U.S (and U.S.-based Pfizer, the world’s largest drug company, would not currently be trying to escape to the U.K. by buying AstraZeneca).

The FairTax would induce every billionaire on earth to relocate to the Land of the Free. Capital would pour in from all over the globe, and make the U.S. the preferred location for manufacturing for export. Within a year, it would seem as if the Bush 43/Obama Great Stagnation had been nothing more than a bad dream.

Because all existing wealth will be liquidated and spent someday, and because assets earn a compounded return until that someday arrives, a 15% FairTax would be equivalent to a 15% tax on the present value of all existing wealth. It would also amount to a 15% tax on all future income.

While some people may feel that the FairTax would be unfair to retirees living off savings (like 401k accounts), it would actually be a boon to them. For most retirees, the value of the assets in their retirement accounts would go up by much more than the amount of the FairTax. Stable money plus the FairTax would cause the stock market to at least double.

The tax system proposed by Thomas Piketty would destroy both income and wealth in a doomed and futile effort to get more than can be gotten. The FairTax would multiply both income and wealth, almost as if they were loaves and fishes (maybe Pope Francis would approve of that). The FairTax would then tax away a small share of both, leaving both the people and the federal government much better off than they are now...

This article is published in full, here.

In support of the Fair Tax

Lynn Westmoreland — Fri, 02 May 2014 02:27:38 GMT

Times-Herald

As the April 15 tax deadline arrives, we are reminded once again of our broken system and the need for a simplified tax code.

Our current tax code is more than 73,000 pages long and equally as complex. By constantly segmenting taxpayers with brackets and exemptions, the tax code is becoming more complicated.

We all have an equal stake in the success of our nation and for the services our tax dollars provide. However, manipulation and abuse are more prevalent in a complicated tax system because of its difficulty for even experts to navigate. The recent abuse from the IRS is another shining example of why the Fair Tax is needed. With a simplified tax code, there isn’t a need for the large agency.

Fair Tax was first introduced into Congress in 1999 and sets a flat, national sales retail tax rate at 23 percent. It only taxes goods and services for personal consumption – that’s it.

No income, property, or estate tax. You can keep your whole paycheck and only get taxed on what you choose to spend it on. It’s as simple as that. It treats everyone the same and is transparent.

I am a cosponsor of H.R. 25, the Fair Tax Act of 2013, which currently has 75 cosponsors. In fact, each Congress since I have been elected, I have supported and co-sponsored the Fair Tax Act and will continue to do so as long as I have the privilege to serve in public office.

Learn more about the Fair Tax on my website, www.westmoreland.house.gov, or by visiting www.fairtax.org.

This article is published here.

Flat tax not the answer

Darwyn Hanna — Fri, 02 May 2014 02:21:06 GMT

Austin American-Statesman

Senator Cornyn,

Under no circumstances “reform” our tax code with any “Flat Tax” or any other fancy name that leaves the IRS in charge. The Fair Tax crushes and eliminates everything you state you are for and includes, among many other delights, the end of the IRS and April 15. Have your staff read the 133-page Fair Tax bill and verify these statements. The only opposition to The Fair Tax that I know of is “lobby money.” Time to have spine for what is right and end corruption!

This story is published here.

Campaign to drop all federal income taxes

Vince Rembulat — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 02:55:13 GMT

Manteca Bulletin

Imagine an America where the corporate income tax is reduced to zero.

Supporters of the Fair Tax Bill envision companies flooding the U.S. to set up shop while creating millions and millions of new jobs.

John Depue, who has been a Fair Tax advocate for over five years, estimates 16 million non-farm jobs opening in that first year.

As guest speaker at Manteca Patriots meeting at Chez Shari Thursday, he talked about the bill that would overhaul the federal tax code by replacing all existing income and payroll taxes with one-time consumption tax on new goods and services at the point of purchase.

“Corporations don’t pay tax, they pass the cost of the tax and tax compliance on to you and me in the form of higher prices for their products, lower wages for their employees or lower dividends for their investors,” said Depue, who is a volunteer district director for California’s 4th Congressional District.

After 31 years with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, he retired in 2008, having served as a correctional officer in 1974 and, later, a chief deputy warden.

Depue noted that the Fair Tax Bill, if passed, would repeal the 100-year-old 16th Amendment, which allows for Congress to levy the income tax.

“The current system is broken,” he said, pointing out that the income tax code has ballooned to 80,000 pages.

“It’s taxation without comprehension – it needs to be replaced.”

The Fair Tax Bill is piece of Legislature – 133 pages, doubled space, according to Depue – that’s been reintroduced every two years since 1999. Support has grown every year since. At last count, he indicated that 74 Congressmen and eight Senators now back the tax reform.

Depue contends that lobbyists and politicians are against the Fair Tax Bill. “They sell loopholes,” he said of politicians.

The state tax would still exist along with the Affordable Health Care Act. “That’s a different fight for another time,” said Depue.

Among his key points, he noted the bill would:

• Eliminate all personal and business income taxes, payroll, estate and capital gains taxes.

• Create jobs and restore the ‘Made in America’ label by making U.S. products more competitive.

• Raise real wages by over 10 percent in the first year.

• Save Americans $400 billion wasted yearly complying with voluminous pages of tax regulations.

• Lower tax rates for all Americans and capture taxes from the underground economy.

• Provide monthly ‘prebate’ payments to all legal American households to offset taxes on necessities.

• End the sale of tax favors to the rich, politically connected, and special interest lobbying groups.

• Secure funding for Social Security and Medicare with a larger, more stable tax base.

• Raise the same revenue as the current system.

• Lower product costs by removing business taxes,

• Eliminate the IRS.

The bill has provision called ‘prebate.’ This calls for reimbursing every person living in the U.S. legally to receive money for a specific amount for the basic necessities, said Depue, who added that this could completely un-tax the poor while progressively add taxes to those living lavish lifestyles.

He hopes to the see the Fair Tax Bill become a reality. But in order to do so, Depue and other supporters of the bill are approaching the various Tea Party organizations including the Manteca Patriots.

“The first thing you can do to help out is to sign up,” he said.

His group is planning to do a Tax Day Rally on Tuesday, April 15, in Sacramento on the west steps of the State Capitol, from noon to 2:15 p.m.

More information can be obtained by logging on to www.ca4fairtax.org.

This article is published here.

Tax code reform

Ann McIntosh — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 23:18:32 GMT

Austin American-Statesman

Re: March 6 commentary, “With revisions, Camp tax plan right road to reform.”

Attempting tax code reform is wasteful. The tax code needs to be replaced by the effective and efficient Fair Tax Plan developed and studied by economists for more than 30 years. The Fair Tax Plan is nonpartisan and revenue neutral. It will:

• Allow everyone to control how much tax they pay with discretionary funds.

• Increase governmental financial transparency.

• Provide a monthly prebate to cover taxes on nondiscretionary spending like food and medicine.

• Bring jobs back to America as it eliminates corporate income taxes (we have the highest corporate tax rate in the world).

• Eliminate tax fraud and cheats, and force the black market and illicit drug trade to pay taxes.

• Eliminate $12 billion-plus tax collection cost of the IRS.

• Bring back offshore bank accounts hidden for tax reasons.

• Eliminate governmental social engineering.

- Ann K. McIntosh

This article is published here.

Ander Crenshaw Doubles Down on the FairTax

Kevin Derby — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 23:16:33 GMT

Sunshine State News

U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., is one of 10 Florida Republican congressmen co-sponsoring U.S. Rep. Rod Woodall’s, R-Ga., “FairTax Act of 2013” (HR 25) and the Jacksonville congressman, who has backed the FairTax since 2006, explained his rationale on Thursday.

“Every year Americans negotiate 70,000 pages of costly and complex tax code and spend roughly $265 billion and 6.1 billion hours filling out tax forms,” Crenshaw said “This amount of time and money can be better spent on growing the economy and creating jobs. Implementing a FairTax would help.

“The easy-to-understand FairTax would rid us of thousands of pages of regulations and loopholes,” Crenshaw added. “In its place would remain a transparent national sales tax on goods and services administered primarily by the states. Federal income taxes as well as the FICA payroll tax would be eliminated, and the IRS would no longer be needed.

“The FairTax protects the poor and treats everyone equally: no exemptions, no exclusions, no advantages. People would be allowed to keep their entire paycheck and spend hard-earned dollars on ways that best suit them. On the business side of the equation, labor costs are lowered by eliminating payroll taxes, allowing companies to hire more workers,” Crenshaw continued.

“Americans deserve to keep more of their paycheck in their wallets and bank accounts,” Crenshaw concluded. They don’t need to be finding more dollars to send to Washington to fund big and costly government programs.”

This article is published here.