Subject: Tax Panel Recommendations Comment: In the mid sixties, I was involved with a project to change the registration process at our university to a computerized system. The old system was outdated and very burdensome and we conducted tests to prove the viability of a new computerized system. The pressure from the students was overwhelmingly for change. I was asked to sit in on a meeting with the president of the university and the deans of the colleges. There was tremendous resistance from the group fearing failure or loss of control. I came to realize the tremendous responsibility that these gentlemen had in authorizing the change. The safest thing politically would be to do nothing. The next best option would be to modify the present system. They came to the realization that the only way to make the process better would be to make wholesale change. Since then, I have come to realize the tremendous courage required for these gentlemen to institute the computerized process. Approximately ninety years ago, we started down a path of taxation in this country that has become overly burdensome and complex. While I support simplifying the income tax process, including instituting a flat tax, these changes would merely reset the clock to a previous point in time with the same income tax with the ability for it to quickly resume its growth and complexity. I believe that the time has come to change from a production tax to a consumption tax. There is a comprehensive bill in Congress that has been thoroughly researched to show its viability. The bill is titled The Fair Tax (HR25/S25) and is the only plan that I have seen that meets all of the Presidents requirements specified in his charge to your panel. While I have looked at many variations in a consumption tax, the Fair Tax is beautifully written to keep the process Simple, Fair, and Replace current funds to the Federal Government. Exemptions, deductions, chartable giving, and home interest deductions are there to mitigate the impact of the burdens of an income tax. Under the Fair Tax, they would be unnecessary. The Fair Tax has provisions to untax basic needs and services making it progressive in nature. Transition issues are addressed in the Bill. The present income tax is near collapse. The time has come to make a wholesale change from a production to a consumption tax. This would have the greatest positive impact on every citizen in this country. I would like to request that you summon the courage necessary to make the recommendation - “HR25/S25 The Fair Tax”. Eugene Key |