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What to Read
FOX: Hate Tax Day? Here's one way the IRS won't bother us ever again
Highlights:
"Our current tax code is built on government control. It’s a convoluted, absurd system that punishes hard work. That’s why some 85% of Americans are frustrated by its complexity and only two-in-ten Americans say they trust the government in Washington to do what is right with their hard-earned money."
"Our Constitution begins with 'We the People,' but our current tax code might as well begin with 'We the Government.'"
"Armed, unelected bureaucrats currently have more control over your paycheck than you do. That’s not the type of freedom America was built on; in fact, it’s exactly the type of tyranny our nation was built to escape."
WSJ: A Consumption Tax Is the Shock Our Broken System Needs
Highlights:
"Rep. Carter’s ‘Fair Tax’ would fund the government with fewer economic distortions than estate and income taxes."
"[T]axes overall must finance what the government spends. Collecting it in one tax rather than lots of smaller taxes doesn’t change the overall rate. It’s better for voters to see how much the government takes."
"When the U.S. eventually decides to reform the tax code, consumption taxes will be the obvious answer. It is great news that real elected politicians like Rep. Carter get it, and are willing to stick their necks out to try to get it passed."
Reason: Whatever the Fate of the Fair Tax Act, Congress Should Still Abolish the IRS
Highlights:
"We're always promised that the IRS will be sent only after the sort of mythical rich people who don't hire lawyers and accountants and shift their political donations when they're angry. But it inevitably goes after people who can't fight back."
"Getting rid of the IRS that has tormented Americans and served politicians as a bludgeon against their critics since its founding would be a very good idea."
Fox: House Republicans to vote on bill abolishing IRS, eliminating income tax
Highlights:
"[T]he bill gets rid of the national personal and corporate income taxes and abolishes the IRS — which is slated to hire 87,000 new agents unless congressional Republicans can stop it — as well as implements a national sales tax.
"Additionally, the bill gets rid of the death, gift and payroll taxes, and it would replace the current tax code with a national consumption tax."
Brunswick News: Letter writer supports Carter's FairTax plan
Highlights:
"This is a revolutionary idea that will allow every American to be in control of their hard-earned money. You get 100% of your paycheck. What happens next is up to you, not Uncle Sam."
"The FairTax is just the kind of shake up in Washington that we have all been wanting to see from our representatives."
What to Watch
Rep. Carter on The Mike Huckabee Show
Highlights:
"The establishment doesn’t like it, because they lose control."
"One of the first pieces of legislation we passed in the Republican-controlled House was to eliminate the hiring of 87,000 IRS agents. I know you find it hard to believe, but those 87,000 IRS agents were not hired to make sure that you get your refund quicker."
"Let’s face it, no one likes to pay taxes; but, given the choice between an income tax, a payroll tax, and a consumption tax, they would prefer a consumption tax because you’re in control."
Rep. Carter on Newsmax's Wake Up America
Highlights:
"Everybody purchases things, including drug dealers, including those who are here illegally. They purchase things; and, therefore, they're going to be paying the tax. This way, everybody participates. This way, you decide how much you're going to pay in taxes.
"No more filling out forms. No more Tax Day. No more having to deal with the IRS...In fact, we can abolish the IRS by simply going to the fair, simple, much-preferred tax."
Rep. Carter on Fox Business' Varney and Co
Highlight:
"Washington is about big ideas. We need to have these big ideas, we need to have this discussion."
Rep. Carter on WTOC
"People don't like paying taxes...but, they much prefer a consumption tax over a property tax, or a payroll tax or an income tax."
Myth vs. Fact
MYTH: The FairTax rate is really 30 percent not 23 percent.
Our current income tax is expressed as an inclusive rate. When directly comparing the FairTax to our current income tax, the FairTax rate is 23 percent.
Under the FairTax, if you pay $100 for a good, you pay $77 for the good and an inclusive $23 tax. If you take the $23 as a percentage of the $100 tendered, the tax rate is 23 percent. Unfortunately, opponents of the FairTax typically speak of the FairTax in terms of an exclusive tax, simply because the rate sounds higher to consumers. Not only do opponents of the FairTax fail to admit that the inclusive and exclusive rates have consumers paying the same amount of money, but they also compare the exclusive FairTax rate to the inclusive income tax rate. This is an unfair and misleading comparison.
MYTH: The FairTax will hurt the poor and give the rich a huge tax cut.
The FairTax is the only progressive tax reform bill currently pending before Congress. Each household will receive a monthly prebate based on federal poverty levels and household size that will allow families to purchase necessary goods, such as food, shelter, and medicine, essentially tax-free. This is similar to our current individual exemption and refundable tax credit system.
Further, the FairTax is not riddled with shelters and loopholes, meaning wealthy taxpayers cannot minimize what they pay in taxes, regardless of how many lawyers and accountants they hire to advise them.
MYTH: The FairTax will unfairly punish senior citizens living off of their retirement income.
Retired individuals living on a fixed income will benefit from the FairTax just like all other Americans. The new system will eliminate the current income tax on Social Security benefits, as well as income taxes on investment income, pension benefits, and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) withdrawals. The monthly prebate will offset the taxes paid by seniors on essential goods. After the initial implementation of the FairTax, if prices increase, penny for penny seniors will receive additional Social Security benefits until prices return to or below pre-FairTax levels.
MYTH: The FairTax adds 23 percent onto the price of everything we buy.
Americans will not experience a decrease in their purchasing power under the FairTax. The costs of goods and services under the FairTax will remain relative to the costs of goods and services under our current system.
Under today’s income system, the embedded cost of payroll, income taxes, and compliance are hidden and can be as high as 25% of the cost you pay at the register. The FairTax will eliminate all of those costs and replace them with a transparent 23 percent personal consumption tax on new goods and services. The FairTax will make every American a voluntary taxpayer with the ability to decide when and how much they will pay the Federal government in taxes.
MYTH: The FairTax will make new homes too expensive and it will eliminate incentives like the mortgage interest rate deduction.
Under the current system, each time a new home is purchased, the home buyer is paying an increased price that results from embedded costs. Under the FairTax, these embedded costs are eliminated, meaning the cost for consumers can fall relative to the price of home construction and compliance costs. Additionally, under the FairTax, mortgage interest rates are expected to drop as interest income falls toward the tax-free bond rate.
THE BOTTOM LINES
- Our current tax system is broken and oppressive.
- The FairTax allows Americans to keep 100 percent of their hard-earned paycheck and end the IRS headache. A family of four could spend $30,000.00 annually without paying a penny in taxes.
- Further, this bill will save small businesses hundreds of billions of dollars a year in compliance costs, making it easier to start and grow a business here in America.
- By capturing the underground economy, tourism dollars, and purchases made by illegal immigrants, this bill will save social security while leaving more money in the hands of the American people and revolutionizing our economy.
Download our Myth v. Fact Sheet here.
Read the full FairTax Act of 2023 here.
Read the press release announcing the bill's introduction here.
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