Free Republic

There is indeed a cult member among the frontrunners for the GOP presidential nomination. But it isn't Mitt Romney, the Mormon from Massachusetts, despite what some in the evangelical community might tell you. It's Mike Huckabee, the Baptist preacher, former Arkansas governor and fervent believer in the cult of the FairTax. For those unfamiliar with the FairTax creed, it goes something like this: Let us go forth and abolish the federal income tax, the estate tax, corporate taxes, capital gains taxes and payroll taxes, as well as the IRS. Let us then replace all those taxes with a 30 percent...

WASHINGTON —  A key ally of Mike Huckabee that "went for broke" in the presidential primary campaign has ended up nearly there. But Americans for Fair Taxation says not to count it out just yet. We’ve had some slim times in the past, but we keep at it," said AFFT spokesman Ken Hoagland. He said the organization is in the midst of “regrouping” after massive spending campaigns in Iowa and South Carolina, and has cut its central Houston staff from 25 to 10.

As tax day approaches, anguish over the monolithic federal tax code swells, creating fertile ground for crackpot ideas like the FairyTax. No, it's not a tax on fairies. Technically, its supporters call their plan to replace current federal taxes with a national sales tax "the FairTax," but one would have to be the sort who believes in elves repairing shoes, gnomes managing Zurich banks and pixies dancing under the full moon to buy into it. Besides, calling it the unFairTax is too easy. The FairyTax's two chief prophets are Neal Boortz and Rep. John Linder, R-Ga., who coauthored "The FairTax...

Syndicated talk show host Neal Boortz and Congressman John Linder (R-GA) have joined forces to write a book on the FairTax Plan—a proposal to replace the current system of federal income taxes, corporate taxes, Social Security and Medicare taxes, capital gains taxes, gift taxes, and estate taxes with a national sales tax on new goods and services that does not reduce the government's overall tax revenue. They have never been so right and never been so wrong. Former attorney Boortz is the well-known Atlanta-based "libertarian" talk show host who, like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, spends an inordinate amount of...

A bestseller advocating radical tax reform contains a critical flaw that misleads readers, according to a report in the October issue of MONEY Magazine. ... While consumers would pay a federal sales tax on purchased items, the authors argue that prices at the store would stay the same. The reason: everyone involved in the process of production would no longer be paying taxes, so they could charge less for their goods and labor. If true, that would mean a dramatic increase in Americans' purchasing power. But, according to the MONEY report, the book fails to make clear that, in order...

Members of President Bush's advisory panel on tax reform largely agree that the individual alternative minimum tax, or AMT, should be fully repealed the committee's chairman said Wednesday."I think the obvious consensus was on the AMT on the individual side. We didn't end up with a consensus on the corporate side, even though I think it's fair to say that I think all panel members felt the corporate AMT was really not an effective way to tax," Chairman Connie Mack, a former Republican senator from Florida, told reporters after a public meeting of the committee.The AMT is a parallel tax...

The President's Advisory Panel on Tax Reform Should Recommend a Flat Tax by Daniel J. Mitchell, Ph.D. The Heritage Foundation Testimony May 27, 2005 Congratulations to the members of this advisory panel for undertaking the task of developing proposals to reform the tax system. As you know, there is a widespread consensus that the current tax system is a complicated failure that hinders the nation's growth while allowing the politically well-connected to manipulate the system to get special breaks not available to average workers and businesses. This is stimulating a great deal of interest in shifting to a simple and...

Fair Tax, Bad Tax: The National Sales Tax's Insidious Influence by Joseph J. ThorndikeAnd the winner of this year's prize for Worst Idea in a Serious Public Policy Debate: the Fair Tax. In all likelihood, this plan for a national retail sales tax has already exhausted its 15 minutes of fame. Sometime later this summer, President Bush's commission on federal tax reform will probably put it out of its misery. But before the Fair Tax disappears from serious discussion -- well, the discussion was never all that serious to begin with, at least among Fair Tax supporters -- let's take...

Members of the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform on May 11 expressed concerns over the FairTax national retail sales tax, a plan that has emerged as an alternative with a major grass-roots push. Panel chair Connie Mack, vice chair John B. Breaux, and other members worried the plan would be difficult to enforce, would be regressive, and would require a high rate in order to take in enough money to fund the government. Breaux raised concerns that the proposed 23 percent (tax-inclusive) rate would not be sufficient to raise the revenue necessary to fund the government. The Joint...

Correcting the recordBruce Bartlett May 10, 2005 Lately, I have irked some fellow conservatives by attacking the idea of a national retail sales tax to replace our current federal tax system, while at the same time endorsing a value-added tax as a new tax on top of our current tax system. To many of my friends, it looks as if I have switched sides. For their benefit, I would like to explain myself and assure them that I am still a conservative in good standing. On tax reform, I have been a supporter of the flat tax ever since I...

Retailers Oppose National Sales Tax ARLINGTON, Va., April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) announced today its strong opposition to legislation proposing a National Sales Tax."Radical proposals to impose a new, multi-billion dollar sales tax regime on all Americans would threaten the U.S. economy and will have far-reaching, negative impacts on American consumers," said RILA President Sandy Kennedy. "This legislation would hit low and moderate income Americans the hardest, punishing those least able to pay." Legislation has been introduced in Congress that would impose a federal tax of 23 percent on the sale of most merchandise and...

HOUSTON, April 12 /U.S. Newswire/ -- More than 75 economists nationwide endorsed the FairTax in a letter delivered to the House, Senate, Treasury, tax reform panel and the President today. Tom Wright, executive director of FairTax.org, stated, "Nearly seven months ago an idea was born in the mind of a FairTax supporter who is an economics professor at the University of Virginia's College at Wise. He wants the broad public to know just how many economists have examined and recommend the FairTax plan. That idea became a project that has finally come to fruition. Over 75 economists, one of whom...

Wholesale changes to the tax code that just weeks ago were identified as a Bush administration goal by the end of 2005 are being pushed back for at least another year. White House economists, Republican tax aides in Congress and outside economic advisers say key White House officials have determined that they have their hands full with Bush's pledge to overhaul Social Security and a budget plan that will demand politically painful cuts to non-defense spending.