The Fair Tax

[Warph]

Melvin Johnson is a semi-retired real estate investor and realtor who lives in Fort Collins, Colorado with his wife, Marilyn. A native of Alma, Nebraska, his family moved to Wyoming and later Colorado. A graduate of Colorado A&M with a degree in Economics, Johnson operated a construction company for 20 years before moving into real estate and teaching others to gain realty certification. Long active in civic affairs, Johnson was National Vice President of Jaycees in 1960.


The Fair Tax
Commentary by Melvin Johnson, 12/23/2009

Now is the time for a real change in how Congress does its business. It is called The Fair Tax.

This has been mostly misunderstood because many think it is another revision to the present income tax but it is not. It is a totally new economic system based on a Sales Tax on all new products and services ( a consumption tax ). The present income taxes, of all categories, would be ended. The IRS would be eliminated.

It has been estimated that the cost of income taxes embedded in our present system represents 22% of its final cost. The proposed Fair tax is based on a 23% tax.

The Fair Tax has been submitted to the proper committees in Congress several times but never discussed or brought out. But just recently it has been recognized by the House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Charles Rangel and is being scheduled for debate. Now the program will get some attention.

It brings out in the open every program they want to spend our money on. It eliminates the behind the back and under the table benefits that are the major play for Congress and lobbyists. I am sure the main reason it has not been brought out of committee before is it would reveal all those with tainted hands.

It also would need the Balanced Budget amendment to really make the new Economic system work.

So what is it really?? It really is a totally new system.


*Allows you to keep 100 percent of your paycheck, pension, and Social Security payments.
*Wipes out the income tax code and shuts down the IRS.
*Makes taxation of income unconstitutional by repealing the 16th Amendment.
*Exempts all taxpayers from federal taxation up to the poverty level, through a monthly rebate.
*Ensures that all Americans pay their fair share of taxes.
*Enables families to save more for home ownership, education, and retirement.
*Protects and ensures the funding of Social Security and Medicare.
*Leaves unchanged the amount of money raised by the federal government.
*Makes American products more competitive overseas.

The FairTax frees up financial opportunity by restoring choice in spending, encouraging savings and investment, and dramatically reducing tax evasion. With the elimination of 90 percent of compliance costs, over $238 billion is restored to the economy. The FairTax offers an unprecedented opportunity for lower- and middle-income wage earners to get ahead, to save to buy a house, to educate themselves and their children, and to save for a dignified retirement. All Americans, regardless of their income level, are better off with the FairTax.

In addition to ending the tax on money saved or invested it puts the tax on money spent which is the big number. It already has embedded in it nearly the same amount (22%) to cover income taxes of all involved with the production of the goods or services as the 23% proposed in The Fair Tax. It however places the tax on consumption not income. Regardless of who purchases it or where they get their money, not just citizens but even the underground economy. It puts all goods and services on equal footing regardless of where they are produced. It would be an exceptional incentive for companies who have moved to other countries to avoid the punitive income taxes, to come back home.

Of the $16 trillion in financial investments in the United States today $12 trillion is invested offshore. If even half of that $12 trillion were invested in the United States we would have no problems. Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan was asked if he thought this offshore money would in fact come back into the American markets in a Fair Tax world. He said a small portion might remain offshore for good business reasons – but the remainder would come home. How long would it take or that to happen? He was asked Years? Decades? "Months" the chairman responded.

There are 30 countries in the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OEDC). Twenty-nine of the 30 have adopted a VAT or general sales tax, 29 not a bad score card for consumption taxes. The 30th is the hold out, the United States. Also leading the way are the former Soviet bloc countries.

In conclusion, it is time for the FairTax.

For nearly 100 years, we have carried the burden of an oppressive and counterproductive tax system which has punished work and achievement, savings, and investment. The current tax code has been grossly manipulated to reward elite political interests and it hurts the average American. The current tax code has hidden the true cost of government from the very taxpayers who pay for it.

Americans are not obligated to accept a tax system that penalizes the average working American while giving special consideration to those who buy favors and perks in Washington, D.C. To be competitive in the next century and to renew the American dream, we must change the way we fund our national government. It is time for the FairTax.

The FairTax allows Americans to keep 100 percent of their paychecks, protects and ensures funding of Social Security and Medicare, empowers low-income taxpayers, and puts choice and control back into the hands of all Americans. All the crucial elements are in place: A public eager and ready for a tax system that is fair and a Congress seriously willing to consider genuine tax reform.

To learn more about the FairTax, read The FairTax Book by syndicated talk show host Neal Boortz and Congressman John Linder, sponsor of the FairTax legislation. Or go to:
Americans For Fair Taxation www.FairTax.org. These are the sources for my information.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free,...it expects what never was and never will be." --Thomas Jefferson

[Warph]

All forum members need to get out your W-2's and compare the FairTax Calculator
to your current IRS tax burden to see how the FairTax measures up!  Believe me, you
will be totally surprised at the outcome. 

Click here to get started:  http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer?pagename=calculator


The FairTax Five

The gloves are off as critics try to pick apart the FairTax. Trouble is, it's just
a replay of the same five FairTax myths:

1) "The 23% rate is misleading. It's actually 30%"
       Well, actually...

2) "It's not enforceable and evasion will be rampant"
       Well, actually...

3) "It will not be revenue neutral at 23%"
      Well, actually...

4) "The FairTax is not politically viable"
      Well, actually...

5) "The FairTax is regressive and shifts the tax burden onto lower and middle income people"
      Well, actually...

For answers to the above 5 items, click:  http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_main