Replies

Is that so Bigun? Seems to me the legislation does in fact create a modern-day regiment of enlisted tax gatherers for the government :

Fair Tax (H.R.2525)

SEC. 502. REGISTRATION.

`(a) IN GENERAL- Any person liable to collect and remit taxes pursuant to section 103(a) who is engaged in a trade or business shall register as a seller with the sales tax administering authority administering the taxes imposed by this subtitle.

`SEC. 103. RULES RELATING TO COLLECTION AND REMITTANCE OF TAX. `(a) LIABILITY FOR COLLECTION AND REMITTANCE OF THE TAX- Except as provided otherwise by this section, any tax imposed by this subtitle shall be collected and remitted by the seller of taxable property or services (including financial intermediation services).

`SEC. 509. RECORDS. `Any person liable to remit taxes pursuant to this subtitle shall keep records (including a record of all section 510 receipts provided, complete records of intermediate and export sales, including purchaser's intermediate and export sales certificates and tax number and the net of tax amount of purchase) sufficient to determine the amounts reported, collected, and remitted for a period of 6 years after the latter of the filing of the report for which the records formed the basis or when the report was due to be filed. Any purchaser who purchased taxable property or services but did not pay tax by reason of asserting an intermediate and export sales exemption shall keep records sufficient to determine whether said exemption was valid for a period of 7 years after the purchase of taxable property or services.

So, as correctly pointed out in EXPOSING THE FAIR TAX HOAX:

“In addition, the alleged FT, although it would do away with the current IRS and its forms, would resurrect similar tools of oppression in a morphed body, keeping enslaved half, if not more, of the nations' entire population, including small businessmen and women , individual tradesmen and entrepreneurs, and, even ordinary working people engaged in self employment, forcing the above to "register" with folks in government in order to pursue a livelihood [ see SEC. 502. REGISTRATION]. ___ In short, the FT proposal would require these poor souls to become a modern-day regiment of enlisted tax gathers for government, increasing the number of tax gathers throughout the United States to an all time high, and compelling them to maintain burdensome and inquisitorial records and reports under a penalty of perjury to satisfy the wants and fancies of tyrants in government___ all the above to be implemented under the pretext of the "fair tax" proposed reform.”

Regards,

JWK

Seems to me the legislation does in fact create a modern-day regiment of enlisted tax gatherers for the government :

Nahh, Gets rid of a bunch of federal tax collectors known as the IRS, and provides for the state governments to do what they already are doing in collecting state retail sales taxes.

Do you have something against the states doing what they are best suited to do, and expected to do by the founders?

Looks to me, this statute is a big step forward from anything existing in the Statutes of the United States today, especially as regards the constitutional application of federal tax law.

H.R.25

Fair Tax Act of 2003 (Introduced in House)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:H.R.25:

`SECTION 1. PRINCIPLES OF INTERPRETATION.

`(a) IN GENERAL- Any court, the Secretary, and any sales tax administering authority shall consider the purposes of this subtitle (as set forth in subsection (b)) as the primary aid in statutory construction.

`(b) PURPOSES- The purposes of this subtitle are as follows:

- `(1) To raise revenue needed by the Federal Government in a manner consistent with the other purposes of this subtitle.

- `(2) To tax all consumption of goods and services in the United States once, without exception, but only once.

- `(3) To prevent double, multiple, or cascading taxation.

- `(4) To simplify the tax law and reduce the administration costs of, and the costs of compliance with, the tax law.

- `(5) To provide for the administration of the tax law in a manner that respects privacy, due process, individual rights when interacting with the government, the presumption of innocence in criminal proceedings, and the presumption of lawful behavior in civil proceedings.

- `(6) To increase the role of State governments in Federal tax administration because of State government expertise in sales tax administration.

- `(7) To enhance generally cooperation and coordination among State tax administrators; and to enhance cooperation and coordination among Federal and State tax administrators, consistent with the principle of intergovernmental tax immunity.

`(c) SECONDARY AIDS TO STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION- As a secondary aid in statutory construction, any court, the Secretary, and any sales tax administering authority shall consider--

- `(1) the common law canons of statutory construction;

- `(2) the meaning and construction of concepts and terms used in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as in effect before the effective date of this subtitle; and

- `(3) construe any ambiguities in this Act in favor of reserving powers to the States respectively, or to the people.

`CHAPTER 4--FEDERAL AND STATE COOPERATIVE TAX ADMINISTRATION

`SEC. 401 AUTHORITY FOR STATES TO COLLECT TAX

`SEC. 402. FEDERAL ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT FOR STATES.

`SEC. 403. FEDERAL-STATE TAX CONFERENCES.

`SEC. 404. FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION IN CERTAIN STATES.

`SEC. 405. INTERSTATE ALLOCATION AND DESTINATION DETERMINATION.

`SEC. 406. GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.

`SEC. 407. JURISDICTION.