Better yet, go to the actual Bill before Congress, HR 25. You will see that Zon was correct and you are very wrong. Looks like you'll be buying Zon a lunch.
Note that there are certain conditions to eligibility. For example, you must be a legal resident, so no illegal aliens qualify. For another, you cannot be incarcerated. For another, you must REGISTER "`(d) Annual Registration" and provide bona fide Social Security numbers for all members of the family.
If you wanted to opt out and not receive the FCA, nobody is going to force it on you. You simply don't register. "`(e) Registration Not Mandatory" and "`(f) Effect of Failure To Provide Annual Registration ... shall cease receiving the monthly family consumption allowance"
So the article and the fairtax.org FAQ have oversimplified the case, assuming that their audience is composed of law abiding citizens with SS#s that will WANT to receive the FCA.
`SEC. 301. FAMILY CONSUMPTION ALLOWANCE.
`Each qualified family shall be eligible to receive a sales tax rebate each month. The sales tax rebate shall be in an amount equal to the product of--
`(1) the rate of tax imposed by section 101, and
`(2) the monthly poverty level.
`SEC. 302. QUALIFIED FAMILY.
`(a) GENERAL RULE- For purposes of this chapter, the term `qualified family' shall mean 1 or more family members sharing a common residence. All family members sharing a common residence shall be considered as part of 1 qualified family.
`(b) FAMILY SIZE DETERMINATION-
`(1) In general- To determine the size of a qualified family for purposes of this chapter, family members shall mean--
`(A) an individual,
`(B) the individual's spouse,
`(C) all lineal ancestors and descendants of said individual (and such individual's spouse),
`(D) all legally adopted children of such individual (and such individual's spouse), and
`(E) all children under legal guardianship of such individual (or such individual's spouse).
`(2) IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS- In order for a person to be counted as a member of the family for purposes of determining the size of the qualified family, such person must--
`(A) have a bona fide Social Security number; and
`(B) be a lawful resident of the United States.
`(c) CHILDREN LIVING AWAY FROM HOME-
`(1) Students living away from home- Any person who was a registered student during not fewer than 5 months in a calendar year while living away from the common residence of a qualified family but who receives over 50 percent of such person's support during a calendar year from members of the qualified family shall be included as part of the family unit whose members provided said support for purposes of this chapter.
`(2) Children of divorced or separated parents- If a child's parents are divorced or legally separated, a child for purposes of this chapter shall be treated as part of the qualified family of the custodial parent. In cases of joint custody, the custodial parent for purposes of this chapter shall be the parent that has custody of the child for more than one-half of the time during a given calendar year. A parent entitled to be treated as the custodial parent pursuant to this paragraph may release this claim to the other parent if said release is in writing.
`(d) Annual Registration- In order to receive the family consumption allowance provided by section 301, a qualified family must register with the sales tax administering authority in a form prescribed by the Secretary. The annual registration form shall provide--
`(1) the name of each family member who shared the qualified family's residence on the family determination date,
`(2) the Social Security number of each family member on the family determination date who shared the qualified family's residence on the family determination date,
`(3) the family member or family members to whom the family consumption allowance should be paid,
`(4) a certification that all listed family members are lawful residents of the United States,
`(5) a certification that all family members sharing the common residence are listed,
`(6) a certification that no family members were incarcerated on the family determination date (within the meaning of subsection (l)), and
`(7) the address of the qualified family.
Said registration shall be signed by all members of the qualified family that have attained the age of 21 years as of the date of filing.
`(e) Registration Not Mandatory- Registration is not mandatory for any qualified family.
`(f) Effect of Failure To Provide Annual Registration- Any qualified family that fails to register in accordance with this section within 30 days of the family determination date, shall cease receiving the monthly family consumption allowance in the month beginning 90 days after the family determination date.
`(g) Effect of Curing Failure To Provide Annual Registration- Any qualified family that failed to timely make its annual registration in accordance with this section but subsequently cures its failure to register, shall be entitled to up to 6 months of lapsed sales tax rebate payments. No interest on lapsed payment amount shall be paid.
`(h) Effective Date of Annual Registrations- Annual registrations shall take effect for the month beginning 90 days after the family registration date.
`(i) Effective Date of Revised Registrations- A revised registration made pursuant to section 305 shall take effect for the first month beginning 60 days after the revised registration was filed. The existing registration shall remain in effect until the effective date of the revised registration.
`(j) Determination of Registration Filing Date- An annual or revised registration shall be deemed filed when--
`(1) deposited in the United States mail, postage prepaid, to the address of the sales tax administering authority.
`(2) delivered and accepted at the offices of the sales tax administering authority; or
`(3) provided to a designated commercial private courier service for delivery within 2 days to the sales tax administering authority at the address of the sales tax administering authority.
`(k) PROPOSED REGISTRATION TO BE PROVIDED- 30 or more days before the family registration date, the sales tax administering authority shall mail to the address shown on the most recent rebate registration or change of address notice filed pursuant to section 305(d) a proposed registration that may be simply signed by the appropriate family members if family circumstances have not changed.
`(l) INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS- An individual shall not be eligible under this chapter to be included as a member of any qualified family if that individual--
`(1) is incarcerated in a local, State, or Federal jail, prison, mental hospital, or other institution on the family determination date, and
`(2) is scheduled to be incarcerated for 6 months or more in the 12-month period following the effective date of the annual registration or the revised registration of said qualified family.
`(m) FAMILY DETERMINATION DATE- The family determination date is a date assigned to each family by the Secretary for purposes of determining qualified family size and other information necessary for the administration of this chapter. The Secretary shall promulgate regulations regarding the issuance of family determination dates. In the absence of any regulations, the family determination date for all families shall be October 1. The Secretary may assign family determination dates for administrative convenience. Permissible means of assigning family determination dates include a method based on the birthdates of family members.
`(n) Cross Reference-
`For penalty for filing false rebate claim, see section 505(i).