More on Fair Tax Act of 2023 (H.R. 25)
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Give me Liberty
Rodger Williamson
As the release of former President Trump’s tax returns have shown us, the current system for taxing Americans blatantly favors the rich. While the former president didn’t break any laws, he was able to use various loopholes to pay virtually nothing in income taxes. That is obviously something that is not fair, and replacing the current complex system with a single sales tax is the best way to address that problem.
The Fair Tax Act of 2023 (H.R. 25) was introduced by Rep. Earl Carter of Georgia as the latest version of a plan that has been introduced in successive congresses since 1999. This bill imposes a national sales tax on the use or consumption of taxable property or services in lieu of the current income taxes, payroll taxes, and estate and gift taxes, while also creating a credit system to insure that life’s basic necessities will remain tax-free. Once initiated, workers will be paid the entirety of their earnings, as all federal tax withholdings will cease.
Because the Fair Tax is a threat to the current “status quo” a nationwide campaign has been coordinated by Democrats to mislead taxpayers that The Fair Tax proposal would be unlikely to become law as the “Fair Tax” only creates a new 30% sales tax. Dozens upon dozens of statements from the likes of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, President Joe Biden, and many others, all spoke negatively of the plan, while obscuring the fact that the Fair Tax is better for low-income Americans than our current complex system.
The Fair Tax is perhaps the most progressive tax program debated in years, as it will disproportionately draw revenue from the most wealthy, as those who spend more will pay more taxes. Conversely, those with lesser incomes, whose purchasing power is reduced, will pay less in taxes. And those who are truly poor will pay zero in taxes when “prebate” tax credit funds are applied.
Because the Fair Tax is a consumption tax, everyone; regardless of whether a citizen, a tourist, an illegal immigrant, those who work under the table, or those who earn income illegally; would all pay their fair share.
The Fair Tax is intended to create both a philosophical and a psychological shift in how we Americans think about taxation. In our current system, both income taxes and payroll taxes are withheld from your paycheck before you are paid. Through this, our government has taken advantage of the human psychological trait of “out of sight, out of mind,” allowing most citizens to have no idea exactly how much they pay in taxes, further creating the false illusion that when they receive a refund of their taxes that the government took too much of, as “getting money,” instead of realizing that the government took those funds, without their permission, as an interest-free loan.
With all current federal taxes, especially those that are hidden or obscured, replaced with a single national sales tax, every tax payment would become a deliberate act. You would control how much you pay in taxes to the government, as all “used” items that have already had the Fair Tax collected when that item was first sold as “new” cannot be taxed again.
With the Fair Tax, individuals will only be taxed when they choose to purchase new goods or services. By removing the debilitating effects of income taxes, advocates for the policy also believe it will have tremendous economic benefits and be a boon to both personal and financial freedom.
Critics allege that the Fair Tax would open the door for cheating as a business “could” potentially offer goods cheaper than their competitors by not collecting the Federal Fair Tax. Opponents of the Fair Tax also argue that the bill would effectively turn every business into a tax collections agent, while ignoring that 45 of our 50 states already host their own state level sales tax collection (The five states that do not currently host their own state sales tax collection are New Hampshire, Oregon, Montana, Alaska, and Delaware, making up only 2.55% of the U.S. population.).
As once noted by John Adams, “facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” With that, I ask if you as the reader know of any legitimate business in this state that does not collect state and local sales taxes at the register in order to “potentially offer goods cheaper than their competitors”?
97.45% of the U.S. population is already paying state level sales taxes. The Fair Tax removes all prior federal taxes and replaces them with a single federal sales tax for everyone (all 50 states), leaving those five states that make up only 2.55% of our population, still without a state level sales tax to be collected.
The defining characteristic of the Fair Tax is its simplicity. The Fair Tax plan consists of just 131 pages, whereas our current federal income tax code contains more than 75,000 pages. Those who benefit from our current complicated tax codes have amassed for themselves both power and wealth. That makes a simple tax code that all Americans can understand a threat to their status.
A simplistic tax code removes the need for lobbyists to lobby congressmen for tax exemptions because there will no longer be an income tax from which to be exempt. This will put most all lobbyists out of work and will force most congressmen to become more beholden to their constituents instead of their (former) benefactors.
A simplistic tax code would also be harder for accountants and lawyers to exploit, because again, there will no longer be an income tax that is exploitable, likely putting most all corporate accountants out of a job, as well. Those lobbyists, accountants and lawyers in turn could “learn to program (computer codes),” the same as Biden had previously suggested to New Hampshire coal miners to prepare for “jobs of the future.”
Everyone should go to the Fair Tax website at www.fairtax.org and see for themselves how thoroughly this plan has been thought out, and if you approve, please contact your representative in Congress, as well as your two senators, and tell them that you approve of the Bill.