Comment: We are citizens that want changes made to the current disasterous tax system. Better yet, throw it out completely and start fresh with all that Fairtax HR 25 has to offer. Go to www.fairtax.org for all the information you'll need. The Fair Tax reform proposal, which may be fully understood at the website www.fairtax.org , is the best alternative to replace the IRS & income tax. It is a simple (retail only) national sales tax. Only the retailers file a tax return stating the amount of their sales for the year. For everyone else, April 15 is just another spring day. Unspent income remains tax-free. Compliance cost of administering the Fair Tax is only $8 billion yearly. That is a big savings compared to the $250 billion we now pay. Homeownership booms under the FairTax. The Realtor mantra is "Save the home interest deduction!" and we don't blame them. But this is a paltry advantage to homebuyers compared to the FairTax. First, to get the home interest deduction, one must itemize. Only 30 percent of taxpayers do. Should you itemize, then you pay the interest on your home loan with pre-income-tax, but post-payroll-tax, dollars. Paying interest is not tax free under the current system! And your savings for a down payment are taxed, extending the time it takes to assemble the money. And the interest rate hides the corporate taxes, compliance costs, and Social Security matching paid by the bank. Under the FairTax, homeowners pay their entire house payment, not just interest, with entirely "pre-tax" dollars, whether or not they itemize. This is simple. They get their entire paycheck, free from federal withholding. All earnings are "pre-tax" earnings! And there are no longer any forms or filings for any individual taxpayer, so itemization as a concept is relegated to historical dust bins. Saving for a down payment is faster, as there is no tax on savings or investment. And the interest costs no longer hide banking income and payroll tax costs. FairTax.org's site has extensive literature on these details, along with an automatic calculator, common to Realtors, by which one may calculate how much more house you can afford under the FairTax. FairTax booms homeownership white paper: Charitable giving booms under the FairTax. Many independent studies confirm that there is absolutely no correlation between the tax code and charitable giving. None. Zero. Zip. Again, FairTax.org has two white papers specific to this topic, one on charitable giving in general, and one on giving to religious institutions. First, most donors, particularly small donors, do not itemize. Large donors' behavior is influenced by the cause, then the gift is tailored to minimize the tax. No tax code correlation on either side. The sole correlation found by studies is the health of the economy. While Americans are always generous, a healthy economy with full paychecks enhances that behavior. And most economists reviewing the FairTax agree that the economy will expand appreciably with its application -- at rates estimated from 9 to 14 percent hikes in GDP. This will turbocharge charitable giving. Religious institutions benefit from all of the above, and from the repeal of the prohibition of politically oriented speech. The FairTax returns free speech, in full flower, to those who guide their flocks. FairTax and charitable giving: http://www.fairtax.org/pdfs/charitable%20giving.pdf New! FairTax and religious giving: http://www.fairtax.org/pdfs/Religious%20Donations.pdf The FairTax organization is closely following the President's Tax Reform Panel's hearings, but not because we expect a blanket endorsement. The panel's signal benefit is in letting the American public know there is hope. Something can be done about it. Their first public hearing outside of Washington -- in Tampa, Florida -- was dominated by small businessmen stating emphatically, "Just tell us the rules, don't change them, and leave us alone!" Former Way & Means Chairman Sam Gibbons, retired to Tampa, was equally emphatic in his demand for complete replacement with a consumption tax. Inside Washington hearings were dominated by calls for replacement, modified by statements that "there is no political will" to take such a step. Well, with the next hearing in New Orleans, and then San Francisco, the drumbeat from the people will simply continue the demand for the uprooting of our current tax code travesty, and its replacement with a simple, single-rate, transparent, revenue-neutral, consumption tax system -- The FairTax. As to cutting (or increasing) spending, a former, very influential, member of the House Ways & Means committee once said, when discussing the revenue-neutral rate of the FairTax, "If the American public sees the true rate of current federal taxation [at the bottom of a sales tax receipt], there will be a revolution!" Jodi & Steve Maner Amarillo, Texas |