Also, check out my blog at http://ytknight.blogtownhall.com when you get a chance.

Cheers,

YK

Oh, how I enjoy jumping through the hoops that our government puts us through this time of year…   

Having paid close attention during the current presidential primary season, I became very familiar with a common sense alternative to replace our 96 year old (outdated) 16^th amendment.  But when have we been able to rely on congress to do anything with a degree of common-sense?  Anyone pleased that the “economic stimulus package” is adding $1.5billion to our childrens’ debt?  Congress can be counted on for three things (1) pandering for votes, (2) scratching the backs of lobbyist who keep them elected, and (3) keeping us rolling our eyes at how polarized/paralyzed Washington is.  But I digress. 

Has anyone heard of the FairTax?  It embeds a 23% consumption tax in the price cost of goods and services consumed here in the USA which may sound bad but it is actually really really good for a lot of reasons… 

Everything that we consume in the USA already has embedded taxes priced in.  Think about it.  If you are an employee making $100k per year (round numbers), your employer matches Social Security and Medicare (6.2% + 1.45%) which adds $7,650 in annual expense.    Labor at every step of the production and distribution pipeline (raw materials processing, component building, marketing, sales, r&d, transport, etc.) – every hour of US labor at every step along the way includes 7.65% of payroll tax overhead that is ultimately priced into the final product/service.  The IRS gets theirs even if the company doesn’t make a profit AND IF IT DOES MAKE A PROFIT it is taxed on that too!  Unless, of course it is a foreign company making a profit.  But again, I digress.   

Add employer-matching payroll tax, tax compliance, and corporate tax at every step along the way and it is easy to see how 23% tax overhead is already priced into products and services consumed here.  Ever wonder why there is so much outsourcing of jobs and relocation of businesses right now?  Hey, anything that can be done offshore adds up to savings for our friends who are smart enough to play by the twisted rules that are given to us, right?  Unfortunately, the cost of the status quo will be the continued hallowing out the American middle class in our current global environment. 

As an alternative… imagine this…  You earn your $100k and you actually net $100k for the year – no 25% (+/-) to the Fed and an additional 7.65% (employee side of FICA and Medicare) lopped right off the top.  Imagine that corporations passed their tax savings (employer matching, corp taxes, compliance, etc.) along to the consumer and imagine that a $10k service like having your roof fixed had $2300 of our tax burden under our current system backed out and replaced with $2300 of FairTax at the point of consumption… Keep in mind that you have your whole paycheck now to pay for it.  That wouldn’t be so bad, would it?  Oh, and… toss all of those dumb receipts, W2s, and 1099s since you won’t be filing income tax returns any longer… 

And for those who are asking “what about the poor?”…  Great question!  With the FairTax, all legal residents receive a monthly prebate check that untaxes consumption up to the poverty level.  My family of four would receive approximately $525 per month (2007 figures) to untax basic necessities which means that I am only taxed on consumption beyond basic food, clothing, and shelter. 

Well, I could go on and on and on about the benefits of the FairTax proposal (which I will below) but I will leave those who are pressed for time with the titles of two books (The Fair Tax Book and FairTax The Truth both by Neal Boortz & congressman John Linder).  I will also leave you with a website (www.fairtax.org) to learn more.  

For those still with me…  here are other significant advantages (in no particular order of significance):

1. Reverse outsourcing of jobs!  That’s right!  Take away the tax incentive for outsourcing labor and we will reverse this trend!
2. Bring funds that have been chased offshore back to the US by eliminating the capital gains tax.
3. Make American ingenuity more competitive globally by eliminating production (pre-consumption) taxes
4. Take away the BIG advantage by BIG business of lobbying for tax incentives…  End the corruption hidden in 66,000 pages of tax code.  Let the free market rein!
5. Stop incentives for illegal residence.  FairTax requires all within our borders to pay at consumption but only legal residents qualify for the prebate).
6. Put the brainpower of CPAs and tax attorneys on solving our energy problems not on solving our tax problems!
7. Stop the double-taxation (our income tax, their value-added tax) when vacationing overseas
8. Spread our tax burden to incoming tourists and to our friends in the underground economy   

Folks, we really set our country up for a renaissance through this modern-era tax solution. 

So, what can you do?  Educate yourself and then educate others.   Congress WILL NOT WILLINGLY give up their ability to make back-door deals that keep the true cost of incentives to their lobbyist friends hidden in tax code. Make support of the FairTax a requirement for your elected officials period.  Help bring our nation back to a nation of “We the People” from its current state of “We the Privileged”. 

 Peace,

 YK

Wuzzledorf

Thank you for your well-thought-out response.  To clear a few things up about the Fair Tax though…

1.        Good points include:  fair across the board (no advantages to deep pocket lobbyists), no individual filing requirements (we are in the middle of tax season right now… tell me you look forward to it), spreads tax burden to all who purchase goods/services in the USA (underground, tourists, everyone) so that you and I don’t have to cover their share as well as our share, creates an incentive for investment in the USA vs. the trillions of dollars that are parked offshore in business trusts earning untaxed returns just to avoid US taxation, helps level the playing field between imports and made-in-USA products by reducing tax burden to manufacture here and replacing it with tax to consume products here (all products – not just those domestically produced) which helps USA jobs…  On your “pro-illegal aliens” point…  the Fair Tax actually helps solve the illegal alien problem by making it more expensive for illegal aliens to stay here illegally.  Keep in mind that the tax pre-bate provision untaxes all US citizens up to the poverty level but you have to be here “legally” in order to participate.  If illegal aliens carry a full load of tax obligation doesn’t it remove an incentive for them to be here illegally? 

2.       Huckabee calls for the removal of the 16^th Amendment. Not sure but the Fair Tax may require some different Amendment to make it legal.  Keep in mind that before the 16^th Amendment it was illegal to tax income so it may, in fact, require a new constitutional Amendment.

3.       You may have misunderstood Huckabee on “complete removal of the burden”.  The Fair Tax is simply a shift of how the taxes are collected such that consumption is taxed – not production.  Consider a company that wants to solve the energy dilemma…  If it takes tens of millions of dollars of research and development to make breakthroughs, that productivity is taxed all along the way…  Why not untax that productivity and pick up the taxes at the point of consumption?  The Fair Tax is just a common sense, transparent, more fair shift in how the government collects revenue.  State taxes are another issue…  I expect that each state will fold its tax into the Fair Tax as well.

4.       On foreign-made goods, you are correct that their cost to U.S. citizens would increase because of the Fair Tax; however, if each U.S. worker keeps 100% of his/her paycheck, it becomes a wash for imports.  The real gain, though, is that the tax burden (employer side of SS and medicare, Corporate Tax, etc.) for U.S.-made goods gets lifted from the pre-sales-tax pricing on products which means that it competes better with imported items.  This results in US manufacturing to be competitive again which will add new jobs to our economy.  The choice is to either continue to allow job migration due to excessive taxation, regulation, and litigation or to make a common sense shift to a better system.

5.       Free Market forces rule with your (can’t trust corps to drop prices and just not keep add’l profits).  If a current corporation does, in fact, choose to just keep higher profits, the lower barriers to enter the market will enable new corporations to form and compete which will drive prices down.  Barriers that are removed include not taxing labor on capital expenditures and R&D to build the manufacturing plants, etc. along with removing the barrier of income/corporate tax compliance when products actually go to market.

Clinton = puppet

Obama = marionette (nicer puppet)

McCain = puppet

Romney = puppet

Paul = clearly not a puppet

Huckabee = clearly not a puppet = not beholden to anyone but “We the People”

Puppets promise change but keep polarization and gridlock for a reason.  The gridlock is an excuse for keeping things as they are (i.e. puppet masters in control with big power and big money) that our countries citizens will roll their eyes to and accept.  The puppet-masters control Hannity, Rush, & all of the conservative talking heads who are marginalizing Huckabee (and Paul for that matter).  Ask yourself why Huckabee and Paul don’t get air-time during the debates to talk substance when McCain & Romney get to bicker back and forth for 20 minutes on nonsense… 

Huckabee will take our country back to “We the People” which is a HUGE threat to the puppet masters.  Huckabee wants to make government finances transparent with the Fair Tax (no more 66,000 lines of tax code that benefits who exactly?).  Huckabee will build the border fence, build our military, build our infrastructure, build our economy… but the strings have to be cut in order for “We the People” to get our county back. 

The media = the strings that the puppet masters use to control the puppet show.  People need to wake up.  Go to www.mikehuckabee.com and give that site 20 minutes…  look at his stand on the issues or watch is videos.  This man is a great communicator who will take our nation back to “We the People”

In effect, one could argue that the FairTax (national sales tax less the prebate) that presidential hopeful Governor Mike Huckabee supports does, in fact, shift the entire tax burden onto companies selling to U.S. consumers. If we look at the way taxes work in the United States right now, taxes on corporate earnings (up to 35%) as well as employer-side of income taxes (employer matching of Social Security and Medicare ~ 7.65%) and tax compliance are priced into the products and services that are currently “produced” in the U.S.   Wonder why jobs and investment are leaving the U.S. and why profitable multi-national corporations are moving overseas?   

Is it that much of a stretch to consider that a product or service that we buy for $100 doesn’t already have $23 federal tax burden already priced by the time it hits the consumer?  Say $23 is too high and that product or service only prices in $10 of tax burden currently…  With the FairTax a consumer could conceivably end up paying $115 for an item that that cost $100 under the current income tax system.  Is this bad?  Well…  yeah…  I wouldn’t go for that…  but wait!  Under the FairTax, the consumer receives 100% of his/her paycheck (or investment income, etc.) so that $15 is more than available (that same ~7.65% for Social Security and Medicare + employee Federal Income Taxes).  

Think about it…   

1. Sooo much easier!  Only businesses file tax returns on sales (period).
2. Everyone consuming within our borders contributes – which includes tourists but even more importantly the underground economy!
3. Investment and jobs will come back to the U.S. when we un-tax productivity and earnings! 

Oh, and there is one important provision that is significant …  All taxes are prebated up to the poverty level.  As an example using 2007 figures, my family of four would receive $525/month from the government which essentially un-taxes our first $27,380 in spending.  This is designed as a progressive mechanism to un-tax the poor and the elderly but you have to be here legally to qualify.  Isn’t it time that our tax system took care of law abiding citizens rather than those here illegally for a change?  Think any here illegally might leave if their cost of staying increases? 

Can this extremely beneficial change ever happen? 

Well, congress and our country’s political elite will fight this tooth and nail since all those 16,000 lines of current complicated tax code work in someone’s favor… (lobbyists, elite, etc.).  However, if “we the people” step to the plate and elect a change agent who is an amazing communicator like Mike Huckabee, we stand to life our country up by abolishing the IRS and a completely broken tax system. We need your help.  Get involved with the grassroots effort to elect Mike Huckabee for President!  Visit www.mikehuckabee.com to see how you can help!

1. Security for our great nation and its citizens (life and liberty)
2. Opportunity to earn a successful living (our pursuit of happiness).   

These are the cornerstone ideals of our Declaration of Independence.  Our Constitution supports these basic rights. 

Our nation was formed to get away from “taxation without representation”.  How are “we the people” now represented when our congress approves billions in localized earmarks each year?  Back to the taxation portion of “taxation w/o representation” and our democracy has succeeded in adding all kinds of dials, switches, and controls in a ultra-complex tax code that is designed to do exactly what?  Does anyone other than me think that ultra-complex tax code benefits the ultra-elite (financially and to keep them in power – and us in servitude)? Does anyone really trust the Fed with all of the dials that our government has created?  Has it ever been the Fed’s job to do anything but secure us, unbridle us, and give us the freedom to pursue our own happiness?  The federal government’s job was never to be the parent of “We the People”.  In fact, they serve us! Does anyone else feel that the government has mucked things up enough (entitlements, asset bubbles, massive debt, etc.)? 

What if we got back to the basics and simplified our government by removing dials and controls and let our free markets rein?  Would the ruling elite be concerned?  Absolutely!  Would our nation regain its strength and prominence?  Most assuredly.  Is it possible that we get back to “We the People”?  Only if “We the People” take our country back. 

If we started by abolishing IRS and its ultra-complex tax code in favor of the FairTax wouldn’t many of our current problems with the economy and immigration straighten themselves out?  We could get the following:

1. Transparent Tax Structure – not cloak and veil/smoke and mirrors system that lobbyists and corrupt politicians have crafted for special interests (i.e. the rulinig elite).
2. Revive “Made in USA” – Eliminate the tax burden that breaks the back of US manufacturing.  Doing so will make U.S. products/services competitive here and abroad.  We need these jobs!  Gone are the days of the US being the key industrial/technical powerhouse nation.  We can no longer afford to front-load tax burden into the price of US-made products and services and still compete (locally and globally).
3. Eliminate key incentive for illegal immigrants for staying here illegally.  With the FairTax, those here illegal would start sharing the tax burden when they consume products but they would not qualify for the tax pre-bate provision of the FairTax.  

For those who have a difficult time with the concept of the FairTax…  just think of it as untaxing your income and shifting all taxes to businesses.  Businesses would get an immediate 7.65% savings on employer-matching payroll burden (for Social Security and Medicare).  Even with this savings, the prices of most goods and services could conceivably increase by 10 – 30% to cover the consumption tax but since the American worker keeps 100% of his earnings more than offsets the rise in prices. 

As an example, consider the American worker who earns $100,000 (for round figures) per year.  Currently, that worker is receives around $70,000 net after taxes.  If that worker spends his entire earnings he could afford $70,000 of goods and services.  Under the FairTax, the goods and services might rise in price from $70,000 to, perhaps, $90,000 (28% increase) but that worker be able to use his entire $100,000 paycheck & would be able to save 10,000 – actually more with the fairtax prebate which is a monthly check back from the government to untax basic necessities.  

The key is that we need to completely start-over in many areas in order to pull out of our current mess.  This, of course, includes reining in spending which means doing away with special interests.   

A great former president once said…  “Ask not what your country can do for you… Ask what you can do for your country”.  What we can do for our country is to elect government that is not going to be parental but one that will be empowering.  We can start with a presidential candidate who has “We the People” at heart.  While I think several have a mix of good qualities I am convinced that only one is the complete package and the “real deal”.  Please check out www.mikehuckabee.com and let’s take our country back!