Free Republic

Trade Triangle of Theft America has an economic calamity boiling under the surface. We often think of economic calamities in terms of stock markets crashing, people losing their life savings in a day, and massive unemployment or fast gowning inflation, but evil can thrive with a Bull market. In times past, ordinary commodities have been caught up in a trade triangle which feed the beast called tyranny. In the Far East, opium, silk, and spices helped western countries establish trade with China. In our hemisphere sugar, slaves and rum, obscured the words of the May Flower Compact and put the...

As usual, the debate about taxes has heated up this election year. Barack Obama has promised to raise income taxes if he's elected. By how much and on whom is debatable. Rep. Allen Boyd has aligned himself with the Democratic Party in trying to reinstate the estate (death) tax and increase corporate taxes. Economists, such as Walter Williams, argue that an increase in corporate taxes will only be passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices and that ultimately, all taxes are paid by the citizenry. Most Republicans warn that increasing income and corporate taxes will decrease...

Houston—The non-partisan campaign to replace the income tax system with a national retail sales tax today criticized the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and incumbent candidate Nick Lampson for “gross distortions of the FairTax that make even harder the way out of the mess the income tax has created,” said FairTax spokesman Ken Hoagland. Hoagland criticized a new television campaign ad by Lampson (TX-22) that accuses opponent Pete Olsen of backing a plan that will increase the cost of food and other necessities of life. “Not true,” said Hoagland. “Left out of the ad, of course, is the fact that under...

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) - Two-thirds of U.S. corporations paid no federal income taxes between 1998 and 2005, according to a new report from Congress.</p> <p>The study by the Government Accountability Office, expected to be released Tuesday, said about 68 percent of foreign companies doing business in the U.S. avoided corporate taxes over the same period.</p>

Casselberry, FL The Winter Springs Civic Center 400 N. Edgemon Ave Winter Springs, FL. 32708 We will meet this month at The Winter Springs Civic Center. There will be a presentation of the FairTax followed by a Q&A and a discussion of recent volunteer activities. For more information, please contact Larry Walters at 407-949-2959. Date: Thursday, August 14, 2008 Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM This event does not require an RSVP. Registered users can request event reminders. Register

Politicians and Wall Streeters are starting to ask why the Belgian beer company InBev purchased Anheuser-Busch and not the other way around. Anheuser-Busch is an iconic American firm and some find it almost unpatriotic that Anheuser CEO August Busch IV allowed the "King of Beers" to relocate across the Atlantic -- though shareholders were the big winners here with a $50 billion-plus takeaway. But here's the real question: Was the takeover basically financed by the savings Anheuser expected from escaping America's increasingly uncompetitive corporate tax system? According to the Tax Foundation, Belgium's corporate tax rate is 33%, but the effective...

Marion County (FL) FairTax Volunteers monthly meetings Marion County Public Library Marion County (FL) FairTax Volunteers monthly meetings are held on the first Wednesday of every month from 6:30pm until 8:30pm at the Marion County Public Library, Meeting Room A. We have this room until December 3, 2008. Date: Wednesday, August 6, 2008 Time: 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM Repeat on the first Wednesday of the month until 12/03/2008 This event does not require an RSVP. Registered users can request event reminders. Register

Myrtle Beach, SC Date: Saturday, August 2nd Time: 10:30am-12:30pm Location: Chapin Memorial Library' 400 14th Ave N Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 Event Host: Mickey Lattimore fairtax@sc.rr.com Date: Saturday, August 2, 2008 Time: 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM This event does not require an RSVP. Registered users can request event reminders. Register

Like all the great nations and societies of history the United States is rapidly coming to the end of its existence as a great and powerful country. The shackles of our nearly 70,000 page tax code are making us less and less able to compete in the global economy. Our tax on capital is cutting our businesses off at the knees. Our highest earners have half their income confiscated by the IRS. All of these taxes along with the cost of complying with nearly unfathomable tax regulations put us at a severe disadvantage as competitors in the global economy since...

Fascism, socialism and communism all offer varying degrees of control. Some believe that others require more government control. The new extreme in control appears to be environmentalism. From www.worldtribune.com: Vaclav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic, who survived the communist system and now leads a country that emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet empire, is warning of a new form of communism threatening human freedom and progress. “Environmentalism is the new communism, a system of elite command-and-control that kills prosperity and should similarly be condemned to the ash heap of history. I understand that global warming is a religion...

...The nearby chart shows that the top 1% of taxpayers, those who earn above $388,806, paid 40% of all income taxes in 2006, the highest share in at least 40 years. The top 10% in income, those earning more than $108,904, paid 71%. Barack Obama says he's going to cut taxes for those at the bottom, but that's also going to be a challenge because Americans with an income below the median paid a record low 2.9% of all income taxes, while the top 50% paid 97.1%. Perhaps he thinks half the country should pay all the taxes to support...

Kennesaw, GAGeorgia's 6th & 11th Districts Monthly Meeting is every third Saturday at 9 a.m. The meeting takes place at the Golden Corral on Barrett Pkwy in Kennesaw. Date: Saturday, July 19, 2008Time: 9:00 AM Repeat on the third Saturday of the month until 07/20/2008 This event does not require an RSVP. Registered users can request event reminders. Register

This is the first in a series of three articles on how your pockets are being shamelessly picked by government and big business.I bet you knew the IRS was robbing you. You just didn't know how much. Read on. Are you a middle-class retiree living here on our little sandbar with money in an IRA? The IRA is supposed to give you a break by allowing you to put money away tax-free, allow it to grow, and then tax you when you withdraw it. Sounds good, doesn't it? You're getting robbed. You're not the one benefitting by it as much...

Dear FairTax supporters, Our cause continues to gather steam in hometown America—while, with smoke in the air, Congress fiddles. Could it be more obvious that we will have to save the nation from our own elected officials and candidates? Retirement investments, savings and college education accounts are evaporating as the stock market falls—while at the same time leading economists predict that trillions of dollars can and will flow into the United States economy after enactment of the FairTax. Candidate Obama signals a desire to raise the amount of money the government takes from the growth of savings and investments while...

Cool, the FairTax is a featured article on Wikipedia today. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FairTax Thanks to all who sent us a heads up.

Greenville, SCDate: Saturday, July 19th Time: 10:00am-12:00pm Location: Tommy's Ham House 214 Rutherford St Greenville, SC Event Hosts: Gene Bustard thebustards@charter.netCharles Swift nylinthead@yahoo.comDate: Saturday, July 19, 2008Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM This event does not require an RSVP. Registered users can request event reminders. Register

If anyone ever tries to tell you that the economy is driven by consumer spending, I have one piece of advice–RUN! This one fallacy alone has arguably caused more damage to our nation than any other, and a person who believes it is either deceived, or is using it to be deceptive, or both. I walked out of an investing seminar recently because the speaker used this fallacy–that consumer spending is the basis of the economy–as a foundational argument for his thesis. His thesis was that America is headed toward a serious economic downturn based on future reduction of consumer...

n 2005, the estimated time and money cost of complying with the federal Internal Revenue Code was 6 billion man-hours worth $265 billion. The code that year stood at 7 million words in 736 code sections, up from 718,000 words in 103 code sections in 1955. By contrast, the King James Bible has 788,280 words in 66 books, the Harry Potter series has just over 1 million words in 7 books, and the English translation of War and Peace has 560,000 words.

The vision behind July 4th, Independence Day, is with us today Born in the struggle to throw off unfair taxes that sapped the lifeblood from our colonies, American patriots soon pledged their lives and fortunes to each other to create a new form of government that rejected the rule of kings. A new idea sprang forth that government should only exist to protect and advance the rights that are derived, not from any ruler but which all men and women are endowed with by our Creator. A new government was formed that risked everything to advance this idea that government...

Casselberry, FL Eastmonte Civic Center 830 Magnolia Dr. Altamonte Springs, FL 32701 Monthly Meeting for Casselberry and surrounding areas is every second Tuesday at 7 p.m. till 9:00 p.m. We will meet this month at The Eastmonte Civic Center. There will be a presentation of the FairTax followed by a Q&A and a discussion of recent volunteer activities. For more information, please contact Larry Walters at 407-949-2959. Date: Tuesday, July 8, 2008 Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Repeat on the second Tuesday of the month until 07/20/2008 This event does not require an RSVP. Registered users can request event...

Loganville, GA Dear FairTax supporters: Do you want to learn more about how you can help promote the FairTax in your community? How you can answer the objections of your friends, family, co-workers? Would you like to network with other FairTax supporters to share ideas? Then plan to join us for our first FairTax Workshop for 2008. This event is FREE. Saturday, July 12th, 9am - 1pm. Covenant Christian Academy 3425 Loganville Hwy (GA 20) Loganville, GA 30052 Click here for driving directionsWe have invited Congressman Linder and Senator Chambliss to join us to give updates about the progress of...

Marion County Public Library Marion County (FL) FairTax Volunteers monthly meetings are held on the first Wednesday of every month from 6:30pm until 8:30pm at the Marion County Public Library, Meeting Room A. We have this room until December 3, 2008. Date: Wednesday, July 2, 2008Time: 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM Repeat on the first Wednesday of the month until 12/03/2008 This event does not require an RSVP. Registered users can request event reminders. Register

Why NTU Supports the FairTax: The Fair Tax Act would promote freedom, fairness, and economic opportunity by repealing the income tax and other taxes, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, and enacting a national sales tax to be administered primarily by the States. Legislative Status: The FairTax has been reintroduced for the 110th Congress. It is H.R. 25 in the House and S. 1025 in the Senate. NTU has endorsed the FairTax since 1998 and continues to work for its adoption Benefits of the FairTax: The FairTax plan brings fairness, transparency, and efficiency to our unfair, complex, and confusing Tax Code....

Tuscumbia, AL What: FairTax Booth-Helen Keller Festival Date: Saturday June 28 Times: Schedule available, call for times and carpool needs Location: Tuscumbia, Alabama Calling all volunteers! No experience necessary!! If you would like to help us hand-out literature and have a great time meeting others who consider the FairTax issue as the #1 issue that will turn this country around economically, then contact Chuck Bailey to sign up to help! Contact: Chuck Bailey FairTax Volunteer District Director Alabama Congressional District 5 irlaserman@sprynet.com 256-776-5636(Home) 256-479-4350(Cell) Date: Saturday, June 28, 2008Time: 9:00 AM This event does not require an RSVP. Registered users...

Casselberry, FL Eastmonte Civic Center 830 Magnolia Dr. Altamonte Springs, FL 32701 We will meet this month at The Eastmonte Civic Center. There will be a presentation of the FairTax followed by a Q&A and a discussion of recent volunteer activities. For more information, please contact Larry Walters at 407-949-2959. Date: Tuesday, June 24, 2008Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM This event does not require an RSVP. Registered users can request event reminders. Register

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 expresslyclear to the taxpayer. One example is fuel. The average price of a gallon of gas last August...

Kennesaw GeorgiaGeorgia's 6th & 11th Districts Monthly Meeting is every third Saturday at 9 a.m. The meeting takes place at the Golden Corral on Barrett Pkwy in Kennesaw. Date: Saturday, June 21, 2008Time: 9:00 AM Repeat on the third Saturday of the month until 07/20/2008 This event does not require an RSVP. Registered users can request event reminders. Register

Location: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Date: June 12, 2008 Time: 7:00pm Building: Old Depot Station Building Fair Tax Presenter: Thad Viers

Casselberry, FL Central Library215 N. Oxford Road Casselberry, FL 32707 Monthly Meeting for Casselberry and surrounding areas is every second Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Central Library. There will be a presentation of the FairTax followed by a Q&A and a discussion of recent volunteer activities. For more information, please contact Larry Walters at 407-949-2959. Date: Tuesday, June 10, 2008Time: 7:00 PM - 8:45 PM Repeat on the second Tuesday of the month until 07/20/2008 This event does not require an RSVP. Registered users can request event reminders. Register

Candidates rally 'round 23 percent alternative levy It's what propelled two of the eight congressional candidates to run. Another two have agreed that if elected, they'll sign up to be co-sponsors of it. What is it about the Fair Tax proposal - which would completely undo the way Americans pay federal taxes - that warrants the support of half of the 5th District congressional candidates? "It untaxes the poor, and it's just so bloody simple," said Chuck Bailey, a retired Boeing engineer who heads North Alabama's Fair Tax organization. "Just imagine never filing another tax return, bringing home your entire...

Greensboro, NCFairTax Meeting - Greensboro, NC Benjamin Branch Library 1530 Benjamin Parkway Greensboro, NC 27408 (336) 373-7540 Our FairTax meetings are scheduled for the first Tuesday evening of each month at the Benjamin Library on Benjamin Parkway across from Nathaniel Greene School. I hope everyone will make plans to attend. We have a small, but committed core group, so let's brainstorm and get some ideas flowing. Come alone or bring a friend and let's get some action going. Thanks and looking forward to seeing you. Bill bbtidwell@yahoo.com336-656-3992 Date: Thursday, June 5, 2008Time: 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Repeat on the...

Tax compliance factsThe tax gap affects all taxpayers.In her testimony before Congress, Nina Olson, the National Taxpayer Advocate, said the following regarding the impact of noncompliance on taxpayers, in general: “If we divide the 2001 net tax gap estimate of $255 billion by 130 million individual taxpayers, we can see that each of those taxpayers in 2001 paid, on average, an extra $2,000 to subsidize the unwillingness or inability of some taxpayers to pay their fair share.”1 In 2001 the average taxpayer paid $8,265 in taxes. With an estimated tax gap – which is the difference between what taxpayers should...

Below is the FairTax resolution I submitted to the Platform & Resolutions Committee of the Illinois GOP Party Convention. Marilyn Rickert, Illinois FairTax, President The FairTax reflects the values, ideals and principals of the people of Illinois and the nation. I respectfully submit this resolution to be adopted as part of the Illinois Republican Party platform. FairTax Resolution background: The resolution was adopted by the ...

Meeting scheduled... Date: Thursday May 22, 2008 Time: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Location: "Via" ( Senior Citizens Center ) Street: 1717 Dauphin Street City/State/Zip: Mobile, Alabama 36604-1307 Phone: (251) 478-3311FairTax is HOT, and we continue rallying support as seen recently by the whirlwind of talk in the media during this presidential season. The great news is, it's not over! People are continuing to learn about and move into the FairTax arena of ideas!! Next Thursday, May 22 at 6:00pm is your opportunity to get involved or simply to learn more about this important issue. We will be meeting at...

My good friend Lee – a Vietnam veteran and proud gun-toting conservative – recently declared to me that the FairTax is a great idea that will never actually happen. Because I am a true Reagan conservative – one full of optimism and faith in the American people – I respectfully dissent. And I write today to explain exactly how we will win the war against the I.R.S. and make the FairTax a reality. We can all agree that the FairTax movement is a grass roots effort that must prevail over the resistance of politicians and lobbyists who have a powerful...

This is the latest tax reform poll that I have seen. This is from an interesting website in which members develop their own polls.

The Americans For Fair Taxation welcomes Congressman John Kline of Minnesota to The Fair Tax movement. He joined The Fair Tax movement on April 23rd. Representative Kline is the 76th cosponsor of The Fair Tax. He is the second cosponsor this month and the fourth this year. In supporting The Fair Tax Congressman Kline stated: ""I am committed to the pursuit of economic growth, job creation, and tax relief for Minnesotans and all Americans." The increasing number of cosponsors and the pace at which Congrerss members are signing is a direct result an strong indication of the growing grassroots movement...

Greensboro, NC Previous Event FairTax Meeting - Greensboro, NC Benjamin Branch Library 1530 Benjamin Parkway Greensboro, NC 27408 (336) 373-7540 Our FairTax meetings are scheduled for the first Tuesday evening of each month at the Benjamin Library on Benjamin Parkway across from Nathaniel Greene School. I hope everyone will make plans to attend. We have a small, but committed core group, so let's brainstorm and get some ideas flowing. Come alone or bring a friend and let's get some action going. Thanks and looking forward to seeing you. Bill bbtidwell@yahoo.com 336-656-3992 Date: Thursday, May 1, 2008 Time: 7:00 PM -...

Replacing federal income, payroll, and estate and gift taxes with the FairTax has a positive impact on the stock and bond markets. What determines stock and bond valuesThe value of corporate stock or a corporate bond is the present discounted value of the expected future income stream (net of tax) of the stock or bond. Thus, a stock’s value or a bond’s value is a function of two things: The expected future income from owning the asset and the interest rate. If a firm’s expected future income stream increases, then the stock will increase in value. If a firm’s expected...

WNDB AM, Daytona Beach, FL FairTax National Communications Director, Ken Hoagland, will appear on "The Marc Bernier Show" on WNDB radio, 1150 AM at 5:30 pm EDT. The radio station is in Daytona Beach, FL and the program will stream from WNDB's Web site. Connect here >>Date: Friday, April 25, 2008 Time: 5:30 PM

I heard a radio talk-show host talking about an idea that I initially thought was so off the wall as to be ludicrous. He was urging his listeners to buy a book and, intrigued, I did. The book is by Neal Boortz, congressman John Linder (R-Ga.) and Rob Woodall, and is called "FairTax: The Truth." It is their second book and was written to answer criticisms that arose from the first book which had become No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list in 2005. It proposes that the federal income tax be abolished, in favor of a tax...

Red Planet Cartoons commemorated the annual feeding of the federal Leviathan: April 15th, Tax Day. The above cartoon kicks off an informative post about The Fair Tax. “[P]assing the FairTax would constitute the biggest transfer of power from government to the people in the history of this republic.” -–from the book FairTax: The Truth: Answering the Critics by congressman John Linder and Neal Boortz, p.60. For those who need information on the Fair Tax idea, RPC presents the following, easy-to-digest table.

The Americans For Fair Taxation welcomes Congressman J. Gresham Barrett to The Fair Tax movement. He joined The Fair Tax movement on April 15th. Representative Barrett is the 75th cosponsor. Endorsing The Fair Tax Represenatative Barrett stated the following: "We need a complete overhaul of the tax and spend system in Washington so taxpayers can keep more of their hard earned money. We need to implement a tax system to revive and stimulate the economy for the long term. This involves offering permanent tax relief for married couples, families with children and small businesses and putting an end to the...

"Great idea — too bad it's never going to happen." Pretty discouraging words, I would say. In fact, it makes you wonder, "Why even put big ideas out there; what is the point?" Unfortunately, these are the words that I often hear when it comes to talking about my FairTax bill. Ironically, I most often hear them from the folks who follow that comment up with a barrage of questions about the bill and suggestions on how to move the bill along more effectively. It is this phenomenon that strikes me — if it is a great idea, if it...

According to the Tax Foundation, tax freedom day is April 23 this year. That means it takes that long into the New Year for the average worker to earn enough money to pay his or her total tax bill for the year. In other words, we are required to pay our taxes for 2007 by April 15th even before we earn enough to pay them. If necessary, we can request a benevolent extension beyond April 15th if our tax return is so complicated that we cannot gather all the documentation required in order to file on time. That’ll be me...

OK ... STAND BY FOR ME TO GO BALLISTIC ABOUT FAIRTAX OPPONENTS Twenty two million dollars. For those of you who do better with numbers than letters, that would be $22,000,000.00. That's the amount of money spent to come up with the original FairTax plan. This money was spent on research by economists and other financial groups; on focus groups across the country; and on comprehensive studies of alternative ways of raising revenue for the operation of government and the consequences of those various methods. Twenty-two million bucks, and day after day we have to suffer the uninformed and frankly...

KTOK AM, Oklahoma City, OK Previous Event Next Event FairTax National Communications Director, Ken Hoagland, will appear on "Mullins in the Morning" w/ Reid Mullins on KTOK radio, 1000 AM at 7:05 am CDT. The radio station is in Oklahoma City, OK and the program will stream from KTOK's Web site. Connect here >>Date: Thursday, April 10, 2008 Time: 7:05 AM

We did it! We've already gathered over 102,000 names--well past our initial 100,000-target number!--to send a message to Congress and the leading presidential candidates about America's need for the FairTax...now! But why stop at now? There's still time to add your name to our "Pass the FairTax" petition which we'll deliver to Congress on April 15th—the dreaded deadline for federal income taxes. Sign now and make your voice heard! Read and Sign the Petition Now »

KINF AM, Santa Maria/Lompoc, CA FairTax National Spokeswoman, Lori Klein, will appear on "The Andy Caldwell Show" on KINF radio, 1440 AM at 4:00 pm PDT. The radio station is in Santa Maria/Lompoc, CA and the program will stream from KINF's Web site. Connect here >> Date: Wednesday, April 9, 2008 Time: 4:00 PM

Let’s consider a time, within living memory, when the country really was dealing with a crisis. A friend recently stumbled across a 1040 from the year 1943. There were a few things going on that year.