Free Republic

My solution is to do nothing differently except write to my U.S. congressman and U.S. senator and ask them to support the FairTax proposal, whereby the present federal income tax would be eliminated and replaced by a modified version of a national sales tax. Emil Czul, Kissimmee The most important strategy is working diligently for April 15th to become "Just another Spring Day." Why should people have extra taxes withheld from their paycheck? They receive no interest on this money. Who "plans" to pay at the end of the tax year? However, we must endure the current system for the...

In the last Dose, I posited that earlier in American history, a Winchester rifle was the most potent health insurance (it was the only kind, really) most people could get. I also alluded to how this might still be the case today... Seriously, folks - despite all the mainstream's trumped-up claims about the dangers of firearms (the one about a gun in the home being more likely to harm the homeowner than a criminal cracks me up), the real statistics firmly cement the fact that legally owned and carried guns do far, far more good than harm. Cases in point,...

I write to inform you of an extraordinary proposal for Federal taxation reform. Known simply as the FairTax, the idea is gaining strength across the country. It is, unsurprisingly, facing intense opposition from career politicians and their special interest supporters. The FairTax is the reform proposal of the non-profit organization Americans For Fair Taxation. You can see many of the details of the plan on the website www.fairtax.org. Rep. John Linder of Georgia has placed the bill before Congress. If implemented as devised, the FairTax would repeal the 16th Amendment to the Constitution. NO MORE INCOME TAXES! Furthermore, besides personal...

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) claims in a February 2006 report that for every dollar spent chasing unpaid taxes, they can recover about $4 for federal coffers. To close the expected 2005 "tax gap," the IRS would have to spend $100 billion in an attempt to recover $400 billion. That's $100 billion of our tax dollars spent to hunt us down for unavoidable errors trying to comply with the tax code. It's not enough that many of us have to write checks to the IRS this time of year. Congress wants to write the IRS a bigger check to chase...

Koop, of Roanoke, is a retired engineer from Eastman Kodak Co. and the volunteer communications director for Roanoke Area FairTax. A local group of volunteers is working to provide a fairer way to pay federal taxes. A bill pending in Congress, The Fair Tax Act of 2005 (HR 25), would abolish the Internal Revenue Service and replace the income tax with a national sales tax. That is, the tax on income would be replaced with a tax on consumption. A tax system that is routinely manipulated for their benefit by those with means, resulting in thousands of pages of incomprehensible...

If you’ve ever worked for pay, like for a UROP or an internship, you are familiar with the statements that arrive in regular intervals, detailing the numerous taxes withheld from your pay. The government knows that we can’t miss what we never had, and so the withholding mechanism helps us forget the magnitude of our tax burden (and its direction — towards Washington). Those who get a refund might think the current system is an awesome deal, but the refund conceals how much is still kept by the government. For example, the government always keeps the Social Security and Medicare...

There are very few who look forward to income tax filing and the Internal Revenue Service, especially around this time of year. Yet many probably consider it un-patriotic to complain about the tax system, even if they quietly wish we could come up with something better. Now, after years of grass-roots effort, there is broadly supported legislation before both houses of Congress that would eliminate both the IRS and the income tax system. The legislation, House Bill 25 and Senate Bill 25, is called the Fair Tax Plan. It replaces the income tax system with a national retail sales tax...

Pork Barrel spending and political corruption are suddenly top topics of the day in Washington power circles and the national media. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert recently defended pork spending saying “Who knows best where to put a bridge or a highway or a red light in their district”. He makes a very good point. It is intuitive that people in local districts know best where to spend their tax dollars, which raises an obvious question. Why is the United States Senate and House of Representatives involved in deciding these questions at all? Our real problem is that too...

Recent letters have expressed concern that the poor or middle class might be harmed by adoption of the FairTax (www.FairTax.org) based on a deep misunderstanding of both the FairTax and the current system. We cannot assess the effects of the FairTax without comparing it to the reality of our current income and payroll tax system. One cannot buy a loaf of bread without paying the income taxes of the baker. The price of that loaf of bread contains the cost of the flour, and the income of the baker, but it also contains the taxes the baker pays. After all,...

Interest in the flat tax has been elbowed aside on Capitol Hill in favor of the FairTax concept, which is a progressive national sales tax that not only would replace the federal income tax but also could put an end to Social Security payroll taxes. Either would be an excellent replacement for the paperwork-heavy, cumbersome U.S. Tax Code. The advantage of the FairTax is, of course, that it is fair and simple. Only those spending $250,000 or more would pay the highest rate. Other rates would reflect spending levels, and a rebate mechanism would get money back to the poor....

Let’s play 20 questions. You remember the game, don’t you? If not, here’s how it works: 20 questions is a simple mind game – which is one reason I like it. There’s no paper or pencil for keeping score. There’s no board. No dice. No game pieces, players or men. There’s no funny money or wheels to spin. The rules are simple: One player or team has 20 questions to identify a person, place or thing which the other player or team has in mind. The categories are whatever you choose them to be. Think of a popular cartoon character,...

Supporters of a Legislative package commonly called the FairTax, point out that no other tax reform and replacement idea comes close to providing the economic benefits for American working families and the growth of American Manufacturing like the Fair Tax HR 25/ S25. Major U.S. Manufacturers like Ford Motor and Delphi Corporation are facing difficult challenges and are planning or proposing major changes in order to compete in the global marketplace and to compete within the American marketplace. Talk Radio has been a buzz on the plan by Ford to cut 30,000 jobs and close several facilities. For months, cities...

The news from Ford Motor Company's CEO hit hard across the country yesterday. Ford is going to cut from 25,000 to 30,000 jobs and will close 14 Ford plants over the next six years. The plant in Atlanta is one of those that will close. This is going to hurt a lot of people. That's sad. It's also sad that this could have been prevented. Blame can be spread, though not equally shared, to Ford management, the workers and the federal government. No doubt management made mistakes in design, innovation and marketing. The workers made mistakes because they forgot who...

Part rebel, part prince, Bill Ford believes a green revolution can fix his family's troubled company. But can he make cars you'll crave? In a makeshift ballroom at Ford Field, the Detroit Lions' stadium, a Beatles tribute band is playing I Want to Hold Your Hand, which has got the elite of Motor City moving and shaking, but not the hosts of the black-tie charity ball, William Clay Ford Jr. and his wife Lisa. In fact, the 48-year-old CEO of Ford Motor Co. is getting teased by his brother-in-law about his ineptitude on the dance floor. Turning to a reporter,...

The Fair Tax Legislative package HR25/S25 is in full legislative form and waiting in the Halls of Congress with 47 Co-Sponsors signed on and a total of 155 Legislators leaning in support according to the Fair Tax Scorecard. Many Legislators were waiting for the President's Tax Panel report before committing to any tax reform plan. For many in Congress the Tax panel's Report received a failing grade as it did not meet the goals set down by the President. The President's goal was to "simplify the tax code in a way that is fair, does not raise or lower the...

Fair Tax Legislative Package -HR 25/S25 1. Supported by Alan Greenspan and 75 other Economists and Economic Professors. They all support a consumption tax as better for America than an income tax. 2. Removes the most regressive tax on the poor and middle class- the payroll tax. Provides a broader based tax for Social Security and Medicare. The Fair Tax also replaces the personal and business income tax, AMT(Alternative Minimum Tax), death tax, capital gains tax and investment taxes. 3. Removes business income and payroll taxes resulting in a drop in prices by 10 to 25%. Saves an estimated $250...

by ...written in 1999. Just about every American has finally concluded that the income tax system can't be fixed, it needs to be replaced. Many Republicans want to go ahead and sunset the tax code by a date certain, say December 31, 2000. Like Cortez who burned his ships on a foreign shore so his soldiers would not pine for home, they believe that nothing is more effective at forcing a change in the status quo than, well, the absolute destruction of the status quo. Given Washington's penchant for inertia, this strikes a lot of people, including me, as a...

There are essentially three tax reform proposals being considered by Congress. There’s Rep. John Linder’s (R-GA) FairTax, the flat tax, and the politically (though not popularly) preferred method of incrementalism. Before we dwell on the differences between the flat tax and The FairTax Book co-authored by John Linder and myself, let’s acknowledge one political reality illustrated by the success of both The FairTax Book and Steve Forbes’ Flat Tax Revolution: the people of the United States are ready for bold and decisive tax reform NOW. They don’t want the incremental approach. The FairTax Book would not have debuted No. 1...

Let's face it: When it comes to true income-tax reform, Congress still prefers the devil it knows. There are a lot of tasks I'd rather do myself than pay someone to do for me, but preparing my tax return isn't one of them. I'm among the estimated 60% of taxpayers who use a professional. It's not that the return my wife and I file is complex -- no exotic tax shelters, rental property or day trading. But given that the IRS's own hotline provides incorrect information about half the time, I'll leave the task to my savvy CPA. Like millions...

FairTax promoters are all over the Lake Region. They've shown up at recent Rotary meetings, and at the Keystone Lake Area Business Association. Another FairTax speaker hits the Republican Club next Monday night. The FairTax's first and biggest proponent is Americans For Fair Taxation, which introduced legislation currently before Congress, H.R. 25 and S.25. A number of economists listed on the AFFT's Web site also support the FairTax. Oddly, however, none of them are from the big gorillas of economics schools: Harvard, Yale, MIT, The Wharton School and Stanford University. More popularly visible is "The FairTax Book; Saying Goodbye to...