The Fair Tax

[Ryan Ruck]

Senate Hopeful Eyes Change To National Sales Tax

Think of an April without filling out a federal tax return.

Instead of worrying about taxes due, you’ve already paid a share to Uncle Sam each time you made a purchase, be it a new sweater, SUV or a bottle of soft drink.

All those feared Internal Revenue Service agents are history.

This is the America envisioned by Rick Snuffer, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate — a government that relies almost exclusively on a national sales tax.

“What the Fair Tax Act does is change from what we’ve got now,” he says.

“There are 100,000 IRS agents harassing honest, hard-working Americans for the most part, and the Fair Tax Act sends them home.”

Under such a plan, not a penny disappears from a worker’s paycheck and goes to Washington.

“You bring home your entire paycheck,” the candidate said.

“No federal taxes are taken out of it. It totally untaxes the poor. This is something you’d think the liberals would sponsor because it taxes those who make more at a rate higher than those who make less. It does it in a fair way. It only taxes them more because they spend more. In a sense, it’s a voluntary tax.”

Snuffer says the proposal — a key item in his campaign to unseat Democratic Sen. Robert C. Byrd — would provide enough cash to offset the income tax, even if the economy turns sour.

As proof, he turns to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when the economy slowed.

“Personal income went down and spending went up,” he said.

“In times of recession, when people are bored, spending goes up. The base for the gross national product has always climbed every year, even though incomes come down. People either pull money out of their savings or use their credit cards.”

Such a revolution in tax collection would benefit the business community, Snuffer says.

A study showed 80 percent of the Fortune 500 companies would move businesses back to America under such a tax and 20 percent would bring corporate headquarters to this nation.

“It does away with outsourcing of jobs,” Snuffer said. “It brings good, high-paying jobs back. It will be a workers’ market.”

Snuffer’s biggest issue with Byrd centers on his votes to confirm judges in the federal court system.

In fact, he says, Byrd has responded to only one candidate — him — and that was after his criticism of the senator appeared in a Register-Herald interview.

Republican rival John Raese talks about restoring capitalism, but Byrd never answered, and when another hopeful, Hiram Lewis, faulted the senator on his opposition to the war in Iraq, he, likewise, was greeted with silence, Snuffer said.

“We know we have the only message the senator will respond to,” Snuffer said. “We knew we had gotten to Byrd’s campaign with our message when he told President Bush on the phone over Judge Roberts, ‘I’ll shout praises to your name from the rooftops.’

“Actually, he’s been very consistent until the last two votes. He supports liberal judges who oppose the things I think he stands for.”

Snuffer takes issue with the Republican National Senatorial Committee that sought to show Byrd favors flag-burning and abandoning “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance.

Yet, he has voted to seat judges who held those positions on constitutional grounds, Snuffer said.

“So, on the things he says he stands for, and the values he says he holds, he votes to confirm judges that oppose them,” Snuffer said.

Snuffer says the initial “C” in Byrd’s name stands for “constitutionally challenged,” contending the eight-term senator simply doesn’t understand the very document he holds dear.

“The Constitution says the Second Amendment provides the right to keep and bear arms and there shall be no infringement,” he said. “Now, no infringement means none. Yet, the senator has an ‘F’ rating with the National Rifle Association. So he doesn’t believe that part of the Constitution.

“There is no constitutional right to abortion. None whatsoever. Yet, Sen. Byrd has a horrific record on life issues and votes to confirm judges who use the Constitution to assault the right to life.”

Snuffer formed his own firm this year, Snuffer Communications and Consultant, to make a stab at Byrd’s seat, the second time he has taken on a longtime Democrat. Two years ago, he carried only the home county of Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., in a failed bid to upend an incumbent.

Snuffer maintains the demographics are different, however, in a statewide race, where Democrats outnumber GOP voters 2-1, and in Rahall’s 3rd District, where the ratio is 8-1. Plus, he won’t have the Bush-Cheney ticket pushing some 60,000 first-time Democratic voters to the registration book as in 2004.

Byrd and Snuffer are at odds on another issue — the war in Iraq — and the challenger emphasized he doesn’t view the incumbent’s strident anti-war stand as unpatriotic.

“I think he loves his country,” Snuffer said. “He is wrong.”

Snuffer said Byrd was among Democrats who wanted President Clinton in 1998 to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq, and “they’re very against it now.”

Speaking out against the war isn’t unpatriotic, but Snuffer added, “Ask our soldiers in the field if it helps them when our leaders are trashing them. It’s not.”

Snuffer figures he will have to spend $40,000 to win the primary, one that he says will be decided by 26,000 to 35,000 votes.

Recently, he said, the White House asked him for a résumé, leading him to believe key Republicans want him out of the race, but never offered a job. Snuffer said he senses a belief by national Republicans to make Raese look stronger with a big primary victory margin.

A former pastor, Snuffer says he takes his marching orders from the Lord and has no intention of leaving the race.

“If He asked me to do it, I’d charge hell with a squirt gun if that’s what He wanted me to do,” he said.

Snuffer said many evangelicals feel an estrangement from the Bush administration — not the president, but those around him — over what is perceived as being used to win the 2004 election with “values” issues, then abandoned.

As evidence, he points to several Christians who are being discouraged from running for office.

“They like us to come out and vote for them, and support their candidates, but they’re not comfortable with us running for office,” he said.

“They’re trying to get Christians out of races.”

[Ryan Ruck]

The 'Fair Tax'

In Congress today is a tax reform bill called “The FairTax.” I want to tell you a little about it and then tell you why it is important for the immigration debate. The FairTax would institute a national retail sales tax and eliminate the personal income tax, the payroll tax, and the taxes hidden in business but paid by the consumer. It replaces all of these taxes with a 23% tax on personal consumption, meaning that out of every dollar spent by consumers, 23 cents will go to the tax man and 77 cents will go to the merchant. This will eliminate the IRS from the lives of Americans as well as the billions upon billions wasted on income tax compliance by both businesses and individuals. It will ensure that the American worker keeps his or her full paycheck, free of the large deductions made by government today. And finally, it will speak to the illegal immigration issue that plagues us today in two key ways.

We are a nation of laws and responsibilities. Two of these responsibilities are paying taxes and obeying the law. There may be many sides to the immigration debate, but there can be no debate about two things: we are a nation of laws and responsibilities, and illegal immigrants are not following these laws and fulfilling their responsibilities. They are not paying their taxes, and they are overwhelming our taxpayer-funded public services.

First, in a FairTax world, taxes will be paid when any good or service is purchased by any consumer. This will ensure that we all pay our fair share. If you buy a Mercedes, you’ll pay large Mercedes-style taxes (23% of a Mercedes will be a bundle). If you buy a small Chevy, you’ll pay small Chevy style taxes (23% of a Chevy will be much less). But you will in fact pay. Whether you are an American citizen, an illegal immigrant, or a legal visitor to our shores, you will pay when you go to the check-out counter. And when I stand at the check-out counter with you, I will know that you are paying your fair share, and you will know that I am paying mine.

America stands for the proposition that an individual can change his circumstances through hard work and savings. While today’s tax code encourages consumption over savings, and punishes the up-and-comer by taking more of every additional dollar the individual earns, the FairTax encourages savings and hard-work. In a FairTax world, we continue to have compassion for those who are down and out. Through the use of a prebate (a rebate that comes even before the money is spent), the FairTax ensures that all individuals live tax-free up to the poverty level, guaranteeing that those who are down can use all of their resources to come back up again.

The second way that the FairTax speaks to immigration is the prebate. In order to receive the prebate, you must be a legal resident in the US. Through the use of Social Security numbers, we will ensure that only those individuals who are in this country legally receive a prebate. This means that illegal immigrants will pay more in taxes with every purchase they make. Given the added drain that an illegal immigrant imposes on the country, Americans won’t mind them paying a little extra. Again, the FairTax ensures that everyone—legal or illegal—pays their fair share with every purchase they make.

Taxes and illegal immigration, there is a better way to do the former, and it will certainly impact the latter. Join me to support legal immigration, to support everyone paying their fair share, and to support the American worker getting a fair shake. Join me to support the FairTax.

Congressman John Linder represents Georgia's Seventh District, which includes parts of Bartow, Cherokee, Forsyth, Gwinnett and Paulding Counties. A former dentist and businessman, John came to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992 and has served in a number of leadership roles during this time.

[Ryan Ruck]

The Fair Tax Examined On Day Many Filers Ship Off Their Returns

On what he called “a lucky day” for his presentation, Bob McWilliams got to speak locally about a subject on the minds of a lot of folks — the annual pilgrimage by last-minute federal income tax filers to post offices or accountants to pay Uncle Sam.

Since income tax filing day, April 15, fell on a Saturday this year, most tax filers had until Monday to pay their tribute to the U.S. government. McWilliams, an investments manager from Madison, Ga., brought his Republican Women of Greenwood and McCormick Counties audience up to date on an effort before Congress to adopt a new federal tax plan called The Fair Tax.

It has the potential, McWilliams said, to unify the country behind a simple concept, that of replacing the cumbersome U.S. tax code and the Internal Revenue Service with a national tax on consumption.

“For the first time in a hundred years, this is the first chance for us not to be hyphenated groups,” he said. “Let’s just be Americans.”

The concept is to replace the income tax with a national sales tax of about 23 percent. With the income tax gone, so would be withholdings by employers, capital gains and estate taxes, and deductions for expenses such as home mortgages. In their place, people would keep 100 percent of what they earn, McWilliams said.

A “prebate” family consumption allowance system would send money from the federal government to each person or household in America, based on their incomes compared to the poverty level, to buy the essentials. Then, each person or household would determine how much federal tax they would pay based on their purchasing of consumer goods and services.

McWilliams said the idea’s sponsoring organization, Americans for Fair Taxation, has spent millions of dollars on economists’ studies to determine how the system would work nationwide. It already works in two U.S. states — Florida and Texas — that have two of the top 20 economies in the world.

South Carolina is one of 46 states in the nation that already have a mechanism in place for collecting a sales tax.

McWilliams conceded that 23 percent seems like a lot to pay in federal sales tax. But he said economic studies show that most American families pay more than that into the federal government under the current IRS-monitored system.

“The rich will still buy expensive items and be taxed accordingly,” he said, “but the middle class will be better able to operate their households. This will be a more stable source of federal income.”

Globally, the United States will once again become the most attractive place for business and industrial investment once it does not have an income tax, McWilliams said. It worked in Ireland, he said, which abolished nearly all its taxes and has become the world’s number one country for investment.

“It would provide an immediate economic stimulus,” he said.

And, without the IRS, and its 35 million annual citations and penalties against Americans, most levied against small businesses, McWilliams said people could reclaim their lives this time of year.

“April 15,” he said, “would be just another spring day.”

[Ryan Ruck]

It's the Tax Code Stupid!

You can eliminate many of the illegal immigrants coming into the United States to work by focusing on the Tax Code. The present system is not designed to promote the greatness of The United States of America, the entrepreneurial spirit. It is designed to invite illegal aliens to sneak across our borders and not participate in paying for their freedom. America was founded on freedom to pursue wealth without interference from government, but the present tax code has allowed the superiority of our Nation to dwindle.

Pavlov, using dogs for experimentation concluded that behavior can be changed by the use of rewards and punishment. When you reward certain behavior you get more of it; when you punish certain behavior you get less of it; it is not rocket science. The present system of taxation rewards failure and punishes achievement, so how can we expect to solve basic social problems like poverty and illegal immigration? The entire U. S. Tax Code is based on Karl Marx’ Communist Manifesto, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” Through the tax code our legislators have been marching our nation towards communism. There is not one communist country on the face of the earth that can even feed its own people, so why are we heading towards communism?

Acknowledging that our immigration policy has failed and that there are already millions of illegal aliens in our country, the Congress that has failed at everything it has tried, set off on a mission to provide a pathway for millions of illegal immigrants to become “legal.” Just as you can predict the sun to rise, you can predict that taxes will come up in the debates. The concern of Congress is; “How do we keep the “status quo” while appearing tough on illegal immigration?” So the latest scheme seems to be to slap the illegal immigrants with a fine that they cannot pay. Then force them to file and pay back taxes for the time they were here illegally, which they cannot do for lack of records. How can so many stupid people ascend to Congress? Based on the lunacy of the tax code conceived by Congress in a rubber room (they must vote by pushing a button because they are not allowed any sharp objects), if these illegal aliens were to file back tax returns, they would probably be entitled to large refund checks under the Earned Income Tax Credit (EIC). Our tax code can actually be summed up as, “From each according to his honesty to each according to his dishonesty.”

The U. S. Tax Code is based on income reported; thus if it is not reported, it is not taxed. The incentive is to not report income. This creates the underground economy avoiding all or most income taxes and the honest working citizens must pick up a greater share of the cost of government. This underground economy is a magnet for illegal aliens. If you can kill the underground economy you can literally eliminate most of the illegal aliens sneaking into America to work.

The solution to kill the underground economy is the Fair Tax. This would replace the entire Income Tax Code with a National Sales Tax. Taxing income was prohibited under the Constitution until the 16th Amendment opened the floodgates. The Fair Tax would completely eliminate the IRS and Tax Season, making April 15 just another day.[i]

We have been like sheep going to the slaughter complying with the tax code. It is time to say “enough.” The Fair Tax would make that a reality. The time consuming rituals of saving receipts, documenting your contributions, tracking medical expenses, and maintaining auto expense logs would disappear. The burdens on businesses of filing literally hundreds of compliance forms to help the government bleed honest citizens and ignore the dishonest ones would be eliminated. Punishing only honest, legal residents is a disgrace and must be ended. It consumes the valuable time of our rightful residents and their time could be more productive in value-added pursuits, raising better children, building stronger families, and volunteering to build better communities.

You will hear demagoguery surface about “how the poor will be hurt the most” and if you believe that without knowing the facts, you have what it takes to run for Congress. You can get a complete summary of the Fair Tax on http://www.fairtax.org/. What will actually happen is you will kill the underground economy, making the illegal immigrants, tax cheats, and those earning income from illegal activities (drug dealers, prostitutes, and organized crime) pay their share of the cost of running the country. It would immediately make our tax base global by forcing the purchasers of foreign goods in the United States to contribute the same as the purchasers of our own goods, allowing American industry to have a level playing field with the rest of the world and give our exports an immediate advantage. Perhaps our labor unions have been chanting the same lies so long that they actually believe them, but if they are not the first group to demand the Fair Tax, there is no hope for them. They have witnessed industry after industry fall to foreign countries. The clothing, textiles and hardware industries are practically extinct in the United States. The automobile, truck, heavy equipment, electronics, communication and technology industries are on the endangered species list. The dirty little secret is that tax preparation is so time consuming that accounting firms have already outsourced the tax preparation work to India and other off-shore locations. Soon when you call your Senator to complain you will be speaking to someone in India. The Fair Tax can level the playing field and can bring the jobs back, by establishing a policy of fairness and equality for all.

As Americans become angrier about the loss of our industries and jobs they will eventually stumble upon the truth and focus their anger in the right direction. Don’t blame illegal aliens or corporate greed; it’s the Tax Code, Stupid!

Joseph Tomanelli is a CPA from Mahwah, NJ. He is a member of the New Jersey Society of CPAs, the American Institute of CPAs, and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. He is President and Co-founder of the New Jersey Republican Assembly ( http://www.nj-ra.org/ ). He has earned a BS degree from Ramapo College, and an MS degree from New Jersey Institute of Technology.

[falcon]

Bush Touts Estonia's Flat Income Tax

By DEB RIECHMANN Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

TALLINN, Estonia — President Bush says the United States should have a simpler tax system. Apparently he has found one he likes _ Estonia's. In a brief stop in the Baltic nation on Tuesday, Bush managed to tout Estonia's flat income-tax three times.

"They've got a tax system here that is transparent, open and simple," Bush said in Tallinn after getting a look at how Estonian citizens can file their taxes online.

In a toast about an hour later to Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Bush said, "I am amazed to be in a country that has been able to effect a flat tax in such a positive way."

And before fielding reporters' questions with Ilves, Bush again praised Estonia's approach to taxation.

"I appreciate the fact that you got a flat tax, you got a tax system that's transparent and simple," he said.

Bush stopped in Estonia en route to a NATO summit in neighboring Latvia.

Back home, Bush has pledged to simplify the tax laws in the United States, which he calls a complicated mess. One idea is a flat tax, which taxes all income at a single rate and gets rid of deductions. Yet comprehensive reform of the U.S. tax system has gone nowhere in Congress.

Bush smiled and nodded _ then nodded some more _ as Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip enthusiastically explained how his government holds paperless Cabinet meetings.

The system, which uses digital signatures, permits legislation to be OK'd with the click of a mouse.

Ansip's explanation, though, was not as lickety split. He described in detail how the dozen members of the Cabinet _ in a room dubbed the "Starship Enterprise" _ can vote or make comments online. Cabinet meetings that used last about four to five hours now wrap up in about 30 minutes.

Bush endured the lengthy explanation, shifting his weight back and forth.

He seemed charmed by Estonia's use of the Internet in making daily life easier for its citizens.

"They've got an e-government system that should be the envy of a lot of nations," Bush said.

Bush received two gifts from his Estonian hosts: a glass sculpture and a Skype wireless phone that can be used to make calls over the Internet.

The country is often nicknamed "E-Stonia" for its booming high-tech industry, and it is the main hub of Skype, the Internet telephone company that eBay bought last year for $2.6 billion.

If the phone and accompanying headset Bush received illustrated Estonia's technological savvy, the other one represented its yearning for light during the dark winter months.

Titled "Northern Light," the sculpture symbolizes "the Nordic freshness and crispness, the longing for light during lasting dark periods, strength of purpose and perseverance," the Estonian government said.

Bush said he was honored to be the first sitting American president to visit Estonia, with one regret: his wife couldn't make the trip.

He told Ilves that first lady Laura Bush had an important schedule conflict at home.

"She's receiving the Christmas tree at the White House," Bush explained to the Estonian president.

Laura Bush received the tree from a Pennsylvania family on Monday in the Blue Room. The event is the ceremonial start to the holiday season and considered a big deal at the White House.

www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4364705.html