After 18 Years, It is Time to Pass Fair Tax Act

In 1909, the 16^th Amendment proposed to be added to the US Constitution:

“The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on income, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.”

It passed Congress in 1913 with the required two-thirds majority vote. It was signed by President William H. Taft and processed for ratification by the State governments. The amendment was ratified by 42 states at a time when there were 48 states in the Union. The income tax was nothing new. The use of income tax was passed as the Revenue Act of 1861 in order to fund the Civil War on income exceeding $800 that was subject to a 3% flat tax. 

The Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act was passed in 1894 that mandated that “any or all income exceeding $4,000 would be liable to undergo a 2% tax.”

It was an act of government that began the process towards controlling the People with increasingly varied degrees. First it was control of income, which that control began to increase during the 1930s when the income tax law was used to incarcerate the infamous gangster Al Capone in 1931. Those operating our government so the value of such power being controlled by federal government and used not just to indict organized crime leaders.

Then FDR instituted and signed the Social Security Act that created a program under the “New Deal” that further controlled the people, first by income and then a retirement program that was supposed to be set up as a “trust” fund. It was the beginning of social welfare movement that was initiated by the Great Depression and approved by desperate Americans. Just as the income tax, the Social Security Act and other “New Deal” social programs were considered unconstitutional and beyond government's prescribed limitations. Among those contested and struck down programs within the New Deal was the Railroad Retirement Act by the US Supreme Court.

The latest Marxist social program to be added to the list of things that continues in the control of the populace is the infamous “Obamacare” legislation passed as the Affordable Care Act in 2009. Having already controlled the public education system and influence of college and university administrations, the agenda of American Marxists has neared its fulfillment of replacing the constitutional republic that was created by the Founders of the United States of America.

“The FairTax is a proposal to reform the federal tax code of the United States. It would replace all federal income taxes, payroll taxes, gift taxes, and estate taxes with a single broad national consumption tax on retail sales. The Fair Tax Act would apply a tax, once, at the point of purchase on all new goods and services for personal consumption.” [Wikipedia]

The Fair Tax Act was first introduced by congressman John Linder in 1999. It has languished in Congress ever since and was again introduced as H.R. 25 in 2017. It is the most controversial bill probably in entire history of Congress, but also is important because it would relieve employers of the burden [and cost] of being a tax collector for federal government and those states who impose an additional income tax upon its citizens. It would also make the infamous IRS merely a smaller accounting agency instead of the unconstitutional power it holds today. The bill of 2017 sets the flat consumption tax rate at 23%; however that was originally conceived to be 21% and gradually reduced to 15% flat rate over a specified period of time. There are pros and cons concerning this bill proposed to be an amendment to replace 16^th Amendment, but it is clear that there will be a far less of a chance for tax evasion than the present system, it would be less complicated, would require less paperwork and expensive preparation to meet the tax code, and a more fair system. There would still be tax breaks in the form of scheduled refunds for some citizens and the wealthier citizens would automatically pay more because with increased wealth there is increase in spending.

An organization by the name FairTax has been established to promote and educate the populace towards a better solution of government taxation that benefits both government and the People. It has been an issue for the Tea Party movement dominate in the recent national elections.

For those states that have income tax [combined with a sales tax], cases have appeared in Supreme Court regarding this as “double taxation” in which both federal and state government is taxing same money twice.

In an era where too many people are concerned about destroying/removing monuments and rewriting history, We the People should be more concerned about pressing issues such as the overbearing, intrusive and unfair tax system established by federal government and some state governments.

Fair Tax Act and the elimination of income tax can only occur if there are enough voices heard by those elected officials in Congress and state governments.