Subject: Consider The Fair Tax (HR 25) Comment: The Fair Tax bill (HR 25, SB 25) is in my opinion and that of many renowned scholars and economists, the most important piece of legislation ever considered by our congress. It will be such a boon to our economy, the likes of our country's growth upon its passing will be like nothing we've seen in our history. I'm sure you've read or have at least heard of the proposal of which I speak, but just in case you're fuzzy on the details I'll mention the high points here. The Fair Tax proposal will replace the bloated, unfair and unenforceable income tax with a consumption tax or retail sales tax. This will remove the need for audits, individual citizens filing returns, April 15th, arresting tax evaders, etc.. The barriers to starting businesses, saving money for one's future, and investing will be either sharply lowered or completely removed. The Billions of dollars wasted each year on complying with the federal tax code will instantly be available for productive purposes, as will the Billions of hours wasted on the same. Suddenly, the US would be the envy of the world again, and foreign business, manufacturing and money would begin to flow in instead of domestic businesses, manufacturing and money flowing out. Not only would this be a boon to businesses and our economy, but the "common man" would perhaps be the biggest beneficiary. Not only would the job creation be staggering, but every working person would get to keep their entire paycheck. All withholding taxes would disappear, yet the respective funds into which all that money used to go would still be funded by the Fair Tax. Prices on goods and services would come down due to reduced costs of doing business at all levels of manufacturing and market pressures. This could, in some if not most cases, cause goods to be cheaper with the Fair Tax included than they were before the Fair Tax was passed. Not only that, but all citizens would receive a check or electronic deposit at the beginning of every month that would ensure that no one has to pay the Fair Tax on any purchase on the necessities of life. This is done by calculating the amount of tax that a given family size would need to spend to reach the poverty level as determined by the government's poverty statistics. So, not only would the people on the lowest end of the income spectrum be able to keep 100% of their paycheck, but they'd get a (non welfare) check from the government to offset the tax on food, clothing and shelter for themselves and their family. Yet another benefit is that no one would be able to escape paying their share of the tax burden. Right now people who are living here illegally or make their living in the massive underground economy pay no taxes at all. These people do buy things from legitimate retailers however, and all of those purchases would be taxed. A drug dealer, for example, needs "tricked out" Mercedes Benz's, Hummers, and large boats. Each of those purchases would come with a high tax bill that would have to be paid before they got their merchandise. One last benefit of the many I'd like to mention is that the Fair Tax proposal would allow funding the government to be as transparent and simple as possible, and it will allow people to consciously decide how much tax they wish to pay. I say that because only new items sold retail would be taxed. This means that if a "rich" person wishes to buy a new car, s/he will pay the tax, but a more frugal person who buys a used car will not. The same is true of homes, a new home would be taxed while a previously owned home would not. It's for all these reasons and the many more that I've not had the time or space here to mention that I ask you to please consider the Fair Tax bill and proposal to replace our current tax system. To learn more, the official website for the Fair Tax proposal is http://fairtax.org/. Thank you for your time and consideration. Paul McLanahan |