April 5, 2008
Well it’s that time of the year again. April 15th. As I sit here wading through my shoebox of receipts, w-2s, lottery winnings, mortgage interest statements, W-9s, savings interest statements and every other source of income for the year, I wonder, is there a better way?
The American tax code consists of over 67,000 pages of unreadable babble and every year we have to try to conform to it. Have you ever tried to call the IRS with a question? Don’t worry if you don’t understand the answer or don’t like the answer. Just call them again the next day. You’ll most likely get a different answer anyway. Not even the IRS can keep track of the tax code monstrosity.
For over 12 years a better code has been sitting in the dusty shelves of Congress. It is called the FairTax Act . The FairTax is a consumption tax that replaces the current tax system. Please note I said replaces, not adds to. The FairTax Act removes all forms of income tax, Social Security tax, Medicare tax, Pay Roll tax, and others.
With the FairTax, we would no longer need to fill out miles of paper work each year to conform to a burdensome tax code. We would pay our taxes when we purchase new goods or services. Imagine being able to take home all of your paycheck! Not only would you have all of your paycheck, but the cost of goods and services would remain pretty much the same.
I encourage everyone to get informed about the FairTax. The best way is to go to www.fairtax.org . There are two books that would help as well, "The FairTax Book" and "FairTax: The Truth". You can find both of these books at www.bn.com or www.amazon.com. These books are well worth the read.
As you sit down and pour through your financial life this year, think what it would be like if April 15th was just another spring day.
Shawn Mullen
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The Republican Club of Falcon presents member and visitors opinions and commentary. The views expressed are solely those of the author and are not necessarily the views of the RCF or its entire membership.
25 comments:
Shawn – I think you have captured the issue perfectly. I have read the Fair Tax Book and was struck by the brilliant simplicity of the concept. What people do not realize is there is a huge underground economy out there that does not pay taxes because they do not declare income on illegal activities on their 1040. However, everyone buys goods, even those in the underground (illegal) economy. This is one way to make them pay part of their fair share before they go to jail.
Dan L.
Shawn - I am concerned with unintended consequences, like the potential to create a whole new problem and underground economy with a widespread black market sale of goods to get around the 25%sales tax.
ed - First off, there already is an underground economy that is used to avoid the current tax system among other things. In 2001 the IRS reported that it collected 348 billion less than it was owed. That is on what they know they are owed. How much do you think they lost as a result of the underground economy?
The FairTax does not eliminate cheaters. It does however make it more difficult to cheat. Most people buy their goods from legitimate companies and will continue to do so under the FairTax. The FairTax would not be a source of more motivation to cheat, and cheaters will cheat no matter what tax system we use.
This exact issue is convered in detail in the newest FairTax book "FairTax: The Truth" in chapter 10. I highly recommend it.
By the way, the FairTax is 23% not 25% and is a replacement not an additional tax.
So let me get this stright.
The real tax rate is 30%.
If I pay $40,000.00 for a new Dodge, I will pay $12,000 in FED FAIR tax plus $3,000.00 in State and Local Sales Tax, or $55,000.00 out the door for the $40,000.00 car - right?
QUOTE from FAIR TAX website
... Q= "What is the rate of the sales tax at the retail counter?
A= 30 percent.
ed- The FairTax is a different way of collecting federal taxes so lets leave out the state and local taxes which won't change under the FairTax.
The FairTax is a tax that replaces payroll taxes, income taxes, social security and some others. A company who pays these taxes, passes the cost of these taxes to its customers in the form of the price of its product. Therefore, the price of the truck includes this embedded tax, which, on average, comes out to approximately 23%. When the FairTax is implemented, these embedded taxes are removed and the price of the truck drops 23%. The dealer then adds in the FairTax, and the price goes back to the original price. Therefore, the $40,000 price tag includes the FairTax.
So, the price you would pay for the truck under the FairTax is the same as it is under the current system. One big plus however, you have your entire paycheck instead of income minus income tax and social security tax.
Could you please include a link to the page on the FairTax site that states the rate is 30%. I can't seem to find it and I'd like to see the context in which this is stated. I believe I know, but I want to make sure we are on the same page.
I like the Fair tax idea for all the reasons listed. However, one person pointed out to me the only valid problem I have heard up to this point. Perhaps you folks would care to comment on it. Namely, he said he has already been (income) taxed on the money he has been depositing into his saving account. Should a national sales tax (Fair) be implemented, he would again be taxed at the time he decides to purchase goods out of that savings. His complaint is that he would be double taxed.
Yes, One time it appears it would be. All future savings and dividends after enactment would not.
In a previous post I explained that companies include the cost of taxes in the price of goods and services they sell. So, under the current tax system, there is an embedded tax cost to you. In other words, you are paying the 23% embedded tax right now.
Under the FairTax, this embedded tax is removed and replaced with a 23% consumption tax. So, whether you are under the current tax system, or the FairTax system, you will pay the 23% tax.
There is a bonus however under the FairTax that is not in the current tax system (actually there are many). That is the prebate. Under the FairTax, every American would receive a prebate for the taxes they spend on necessities up to the poverty line.
So, yes you will pay the 23% FairTax on your savings under the FairTax, but you will pay it under the current system anyway. At least under the FairTax you get a prebate on necessities.
There are many other benefits as well, but I'd like to highlight one. Let's say you want to give part of your savings to someone for whatever reason. That gift is not subject to taxation until the receiver spends it (think inheritance).
I would like to comment on Ed's response as well. I am not sure I understand it. There is no one time tax on savings so I am unlcear as to what you meant.
Editor's comment:
I was referring to anonymous's comment about savings earned now that are after income tax dollars being taxed again when spent under the fair tax. His comment was under the fair tax, his friend would be taxed twice. I agreed, under the fair tax plan, spending money already income taxed would be just like spending any money under the fair tax, it would be taxed at a rate of 30%.
REF: www.fairtax.org
ED-
ed - Ok. I hope my previous post adequately explained that there is no double taxation (at least not any more than under the current system). And again, the rate is 23%. I have re-read the www.fairtax.org site regarding the 30% you are quoting. Please read it again.
I'll try my best to explain the confusion. Under the FairTax, if you buy a product for $100, $23 dollars is the FairTax. It is included in the price. It is not added to the price. I believe the confusion exists because most state sales tax is exclusive. In other words, most states add the sales tax to the price. However, the FairTax is inclusive. It is already in the price.
Why is this important? Well for one it is accurate, and when comparing the new FairTax to the current income tax we need to make sure we are comparing the right thing. Income tax is inclusive. It is quoted by the IRS as an inclusive tax and it is calculated as an inclusive tax (same with social security). So, when comparing the current system to the FairTax, they must be compared the same way. The FairTax is inclusive, and is 23%.
So what happens if the current tax system was calculated as an exclusive tax. Well, the average tax rate under current system is 33% inclusive (income tax plus payroll). If this was calculated as an exlusive tax the rate would be 48%.
So, when quoting the rate of the FairTax, the true rate is 23%.
You are talking apples to oranges.
I am talking retail sales.
From the Fair tax website
http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_faq_answers#47
Q- What is the rate of the sales tax at the retail counter?
A- 30 percent.
Lets go shopping
Today if you go to the mall in Colorado Springs , and buy an item the retailer gets $100.00 (base price before taxes), they tac on 7.4% in sales tax or $107.40 total.
Under the fair tax if you buy that same $100.00 base cost item, it will be priced at $130.00 because the Fair Tax will already be in it. Then they will tac on $7.4% state and local sales tax ($9.62) or $139.62 total.
The difference is, the $139.00 will be with zero Federal income taxes just the 4.7% State Income tax taken out of it.
How much do you think states will raise their income tax with no competing Federal tax?
EDITORIAL COMMENT
The "Fair Tax" generates interest and comment because of its worthy goal of eliminating the IRS among other things.
We appreciate the many comments and opinions of Shawn Mullen posted here. I have chosen to moderate Shawn's latest comment in this post, in hopes of ending confusion of differing terms, and to give fair and understandable examples to readers.
Shawn writes ".. - There is a lot of incorrect information in your last post, but I want to start with the one glaring one. Under the FairTax, the $100 item would not turn into $130 item. It would still be $100.
ED- Sorry Shawn, that's just not correct. If you look at my post above, I very clearly stated that the base price, ie: the amount the retailer wishes to charge and receive remains at $100.00, the actual cost to the customer is $130.00 plus state and local taxes. Now if you want to claim that the retailer might be willing to take less, please do so. But my example is correct. If the amount of dollars from the sale the retailer has as his sale price is $100.00, and remains $100.00, then my example is correct.
SHAWN The explanation for why this is in a couple of my previous posts as well as at the www.fairtax.org web site. "... the price of the (item) includes embedded tax, which, on average, comes out to approximately 23%. When the FairTax is implemented, these embedded taxes are removed and the price of the (item) drops 23%. ..."
ED- Shawn is saying the payroll and income taxes collected by the manufacture will be eliminated, so the price SHOULD drop. OK, but it doesn't change my example. Prices are set by retailers based on cost and what the traffic will bear. I ran a retail store for 23 years. We had items we made 5% profit, and items on which we made 50% profit, all setting side by side on the same shelf. So when the retailer decides the price, in my example $100.00, the fair tax will add 30% to that price. QUOTE from faitax website "Q- What is the rate of the sales tax at the retail counter? A- 30 percent".
I thank Shawn for stimulating discussion. I am not trying to throw cold water on this idea per se, I just think we who are being asked to support it should think it through. My job is not to cheer lead, its to moderate and ask tough questions.
Like this one.
The fairtax language says:
"Tax inclusive fair market value – the fair market value of taxable property or services plus the FairTax."
Q= Who determines fair market value? Today the retailer and consumer does. Will this eliminate the retailers right to price his goods as he chooses?
After all, it says the tax is due on the "fair market value", not on the price charged. So if the retailer has a big sale and gives a big discount, today you pay tax on what you actually paid, but not so under the fair tax.
Did you know your child care costs will go up under fairtax.
QUOTE: The definitions of taxable employer and taxable service operate together to require that wages paid by a government agency (as a taxable employer) are taxable and the tax must be remitted by the government agency to the state sales tax authority. They also require households that employ domestic servants to remit the tax on the price paid for the domestic employee’s services. The household is both the consumer of the services and the person liable for collecting and remitting the FairTax on those services. UNQUOTE
If you pay your babysitter $200.00 to watch you kids while you work, you will owe $60.00 additional dollars in FairTax.
Sorry Ed you are incorrect. You are mis-quoting the web site, and the fact that "Prices are set by retailers based on cost..." is exactly what I am talking about. Part of the cost is the companies compliance with the current tax code. Companies do not pay taxes, customers pay the company's taxes and that is in the price. When the tax is removed, the cost goes down.
Now some companies will try to do exactly what you are saying. They will try to add the FairTax on top of the current price even though their cost has gone down. But that won't last very long. All it takes is one company not to do that and the others will have to in order to stay competitive. The free market will control the companies that try to do what you are suggesting.
But all of that has to do with companies doing business. What we are discussing is how the FairTax works. And your summation is simply incorrect.
Shawn,
ED has asked me to weigh in on this discussion.
I also have read the Fair Tax Book by Neil Boortz. As I understand the concept, the consumption tax is added at the manufacturer or producer, not the retailer. Any profit markup is added to the price the retailer pays to the manufacturer or producer.
As I said in my first posting under dlanotte, I really think there are some very solid benefits to the Fair Tax and I am fully supporting it.
The real hazard is if a mechanism is left in place to continue or re-start the Income Tax. That would be absolutely disastrous.
In the posting from Anonymous above the situation was brought up about previously taxed savings under the current Income Tax Code. I do not recall this situation being addressed, or the Roth IRA/401k. My assumption would be that the previous taxes collected would stand and not be recouped. If the government recouped those taxes to the individuals the cost would “break the bank.” This would just be one of those transition pains that we, collectively, would have to accept. However, the benefits of the Fair Tax, in my opinion, would far outweigh the detractions.
To all who have read and/or commented on this posting, I have really enjoyed the discussion. Shawn, I commend you on getting this started.
Dan Lanotte
As you can see from the discussion above, fair tax proponents don't alway speak in common standard accounting language. Shawn has insisted the tax rate is only 23%, when the fairtax website admits that as a percent above the retailers base price, it is 30 percent. But don't take my word for it. Here are what some major conservatives are saying about the "Fair Tax"
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE FAIR TAX.
Daft Tax Plan
By Rich Lowry - National Review
The tax would apply to everything, even medical expenses, so it would amount to an incredibly regressive tax on even the most necessary purchases of low- and middle-income taxpayers.
The home mortgage deduction would be gone, and instead buyers would pay a 30-percent (at least) tax on purchases of new homes. To make up for this burden, the government would send people monthly “prebate” checks. (And you thought our current tax scheme was complex?)
Any of these points makes the FairTax so vulnerable to attack that it would kick away the tax issue as a Republican strength. This is why no serious candidate would ever endorse it.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ODA1NmU2MGUzODZkM2U1Zjg0YWVlY2E0NTBmMzNhYjE=
-------------------------
Tax Analysts
Its popularity depends on unreasonable assumptions and misleading descriptions. It would never work as advertised -- a fact that many of its supporters either choose to ignore or secretly celebrate.
http://www.taxhistory.org/thp/readings.nsf/cf7c9c870b600b9585256df80075b9dd/cfbe9de4a695d74f85257014004f1184?OpenDocument
--------------------------------
ScareTax, Not FairTax - Bloomberg.com
To be sure, FairTax advocates tout the plan with a 23 percent rate. But this is beyond disingenuous. The 23 percent rate is ``inclusive,'' meaning that for every dollar you pay, 23 cents is tax. That translates to a 30 percent tax on a 77-cent expenditure
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=aIOIqqEofwFU
--------------------------
Why the FairTax Won’t Work
By Bruce Bartlett
Nor is there any possibility that the rebate would be free of future political manipulation, as politicians decide that some groups deserve something extra and others deserve punishment—just as is the case with the tax code today. There is also the high probability that Congress
would exempt some goods and services from the FairTax, either to improve fairness or just because business lobbyists persuade them to do so.
As economist Martin A.
Sullivan points out,
‘‘There is nothing in the history of the federal tax legislative process to suggest that a federal consumption tax would be untainted by special interest provisions.’’
In short, many of the problems that FairTax supporters see with the current tax system would simply shift to endless changes in the rebate of the FairTax to fix some real or perceived problem in the distribution of income — or just to buy votes.
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/files/bartlett_fair_tax.pdf
Wow, it is difficult to know where to even start. I would like first go all the way back a previous post in which a link to the FairTax web site was given. The blogger stated that the even the FairTax web site says the FairTax is 30%. Here is the link http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_faq_answers#47.
If you go to that page and read it, you will see that the author of the site was not agreeing that the FairTax is 30%. He (or she) was showing how it can be manipulated to look like 30%. Actually, the site reiterates the fact that it is 23%.
I tried to address this issue earlier but I guess I was unsuccessful. When income tax rates are quoted, economists call that a tax-inclusive quote: “I paid 23 percent last year.” For every $100 earned, $23 went to Uncle Sam. Or, “I had to make $130 to have $100 to spend.” Either way it is a 23% tax-inclusive rate.
We choose to compare the FairTax to income taxes, quoting the rate the same way, because the FairTax replaces these taxes. That rate is 23 percent. Remember, the FairTax is replacing the current income tax system, not a current sales tax system.
Sales taxes, on the other hand, are generally quoted tax exclusive: “I bought a $77 shirt and had to pay that same $23 in sales tax." This is a 30-percent sales tax. Or, “I spent a dollar, 77¢ for the product and 23¢ in tax.” This rate, when programmed into a point-of-purchase terminal, is 30 percent.
Note that no matter which way it is quoted, the amount of tax is the same. Under an income tax rate of 23 percent, you have to earn $130 to spend $100.
Keeping in mind that the amount in taxes paid is the same either way it is quoted, why does it matter which one is quoted? Simple. If you calculate the FairTax the same way that income taxes are calculated (inclusively) then you are comparing apples to apples and the FairTax rate is 23%. Also, people get scared when they see 30% because they think it is 30% above what they are paying now, but it is not. It is this slight of hand that opponents to the FairTax use, but that is all it is.
As I get time, I will get to each point under "WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE FAIR TAX." In the meantime, I encourage all readers to take a look at the FairTax web site. All the issues raised are convered in detail. www.fairtax.org.
dlanotte - I did address the savings/401K issue in a post dated May 26th at 3:05 PM. Please let me know if I should expand on it.
Shawn
Please tell me what these words in common English, mean to the competent citizen who can read English?
From the Fairtax Website. FAQ
I know the FairTax rate is 23 percent when compared to current income and Social Security rate quotes. What is the rate of the sales tax at the retail counter?
30 percent.
Now stop right there. I don't care what the inverse curve rate of the flux capacitor is, I am asking what the retail tax rate is.
And the one and only correct answer is 30 PERCENT. Period, end of story.
Now, if you want to say But But But, the amount when compared to income taxes, or AMT rates, or the price of tea in China is 23%, go right ahead.
But the RETAIL TAX RATE is 30 PERCENT.
And it will be 30 PERCENT the next time you spin away on this.
Now what else about the Fair Tax do you want to debate, as we have beaten this dead horse quite enough.
Mark - I do want to close out this issue. I think the readers are going to start getting bored with the back and forth. I think the reader can do research and figure it out for themselves.
In closing out this issue however, I would like to summarize with an example. Let's say that right now Colorado does not have a sales tax. You go to the store and pick up something for which the price tag reads $100. You go to the check out and pay $100. The next day Colorado passes a 10% sales tax. Now you go to the store and pick up the same product, go to the check out and pay $110. Now the next day the federal government passes the FairTax. You go the store and pick up the same item, go to the check out. What do you pay? If you think it is $140, then you need to do more research on the FairTax because the price would actually be $110. Now I will agree that I have simplified the chain of events but this is what the result of the FairTax would be.
Now, does it really matter how the point of sale machine calculated this $110 final price? I don't think so, but maybe you do. So, I'll agree that 23 cents is 30% of 77 cents if you'll agree that 23 cents is 23% of $100. If not, then maybe we can both agree that 23 cents equals 23 cents.
So I would like to appeal to the readers. If you want to learn more please read the information on the FairTax web site and read the two books dedicated to the subject. One suggestion though, when reading about a specific part of the FairTax please be sure to read it in its entirety. Entire religions have been created by people who read half a line in one verse in one chapter of the Bible. I think overhauling our current tax system if far too important to simply skim over.
In closing, I believe when someone says it better than you can, you should get out of their way and let them speak.
Here is Dean Bartlet
Like all things in life that are too good to be true, so is this one. Here are a few problems with the FairTax.
Prices will rise. Finally, FairTax supporters assume away many of the problems with their plan by asserting that prices will fall by 22 percent once all income taxes are abolished. Prices at the checkout would be about the same with the FairTax as they are now, they say, but everyone would come out ahead because their net wage will now equal their gross wage.
If this were so, it's hard to see why the rebate is needed, since there seems to be only winners and no losers under the FairTax. In reality, for prices to fall by 22 percent, business costs would also have to fall by 22 percent, which means that all workers would have to take a 22 percent pay cut.
It's unlikely that workers would agree to this. It is far more likely that the FairTax will raise the price of everything by 30 percent. This has been the case in every country and every state with a sales tax. The idea that prices will fall is just a pipe dream.
True rate. When people hear about a 23 percent national sales tax, they naturally equate it to the state sales taxes they are familiar with. If a state sales tax is 5 percent, then this means that if someone buys something for $1 they will pay $1.05 at the checkout. Thus they assume that the FairTax would cause a $1 product to cost $1.23 if it were to be enacted.
In fact, the rate is not 23 percent, but 30 percent. The 23 percent rate is arrived at by treating the tax as if it were already part of the price instead of being on top. Thus if a product were to sell for $1 and the FairTax added 30 percent, the 30-cent tax comes to 23 percent of $1.30. This is how a 30 percent rate is deceptively turned into a 23 percent rate.
Governments must also pay. The FairTax would apply to all government purchases at every level. Only education spending is exempted.
States would have to pay 30 percent more on every highway and bridge they build, local governments would have to pay 30 percent more for police and fire protection, and even the federal government would have to pay the tax to itself when it buys weapons and ammunition for troops.
Taxes would have to be increased at the state and local level to pay the FairTax to the federal government. The FairTax rate would also have to be higher to pay for the additional federal spending it will require. However, FairTax supporters exclude this higher spending from their calculations. The 23 percent rate is designed only to be revenue-neutral, not spending neutral. Thus the federal deficit would either rise by more than $200 billion per year or spending would have to be cut by this much.
Rebate problems. The FairTax rebate would also add $600 billion to federal spending annually. Although its supporters say it is just like the one we get when our tax withholding exceeds the taxes we pay on our tax returns, the FairTax rebate is more like Social Security because it comes in a monthly check.
Although FairTax supporters tout the generosity of the rebate, it is extremely modest because it is based on the poverty level income - a figure that bears no relationship to the actual cost of living. As a consequence of the way the poverty rate is calculated, childless couples would get a monthly rebate of $391 per month, but a single mother with two children would only get $329 per month.
The FairTax is unworkable. It is a fantasy to think otherwise.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/01/05/whats_foul_about_the_fairtax/
Bartlett's comments will be addressed later when I address the long list you gave previously. One comment though, Bartlett is making the same mistake you are, which is why, I'm sure, you are posting his comments.
As with any idea, for every person you find that makes Bartlett's statement, I can find one that agrees with me. The key is for people to read the bill (HR 25) and do some research and figure it out for themselves.
I was going to add a comment or two about what Rich Lowery said. But as I re-read his comments I realized that he is making the same mistake as Mark. It is true that proponents of the FairTax are assuming that prices would fall when the income tax, social security tax and payroll tax are removed from a companies expenses. The assumption is made because that is how the free market works. As I explained before, if company A reduces their price by say 23%, then company B must at least do the same if they want to keep their customers. So even if companies try to essentially add the FairTax on top of their current prices, they would not be able to do it for very long. All it takes is for one company to decide to take their competitors customers by reducing their prices. Then all other companies in the same market would have to follow suit.
Of course, if you do not believe in the free market than this probably sounds crazy.
But for now, let's say that when the FairTax is enacted and companies follow suit with a price reduction, would you agree that the FairTax is better than the current system?
WHAT OTHERS ARE SYAING ABOUT THE FAIRTAX
http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1212311774303710.xml&coll=1&thispage=1
I would like to congratulate Shawn for an amazing presentation of the Fair Tax. He is spot-on with his facts and analogies.
The Fair Tax taxes the underground economy.
Actual Retail Prices will fall at the register or competition will correct it (Can you say, Sherman Antitrust?).
Remember: Corporations DO NOT PAY TAXES... WE DO AS CONSUMERS.
America is great because of its ability to invent and produce. The current tax code suppresses ingenuity.
The prebate is centered around UNtaxing the poor. BUT... allows for FAIRness and gives it to everyone. It is JUST FOR the tax a family might spend on basic living food and goods. It "prebates" the tax.
The 23% or 30% thingy is like potato/potauto... Let's all just move on...
It's FAIR...
Re: Opponents: It's very obvious that they have not taken into consideration the entirety of the Fair Tax. Yes, medical expenses will be taxed. SO WHAT! They are now... Doctors pay MORE tax in one year than twenty families may pay in five. Now that feature is gone. Their fees will decrease as well and again, competition will take care of that.
Somewhat related: I'm a mortgage broker: Under the Fair Tax, there will now be a tax on my services. BUT... I don't owe any income taxes or have to pay my self-employed tax as well. So, I will charge about the same and send off the monies accordingly. I would much rather have to do that than save every stinking little receipt, read the incredibly looney tax code and try to fill out my taxes accurately.
The current tax code is a scam designed to regulate behavior. Its original intent was logical, but has been hijacked by (mainly) liberal wackos to progress a personal agenda.
Anyhoo... I hope I have addressed many concerns...
The Fair Tax will SAVE AMERICA.
Oh... consider this: What happens when Chinese/Canadien/Peruvian/Russian/wherever companies learn that they can make goods in America and NOT have to pay corporate taxes?
They relocate here!!! What does that do for OUR economy???????
Here is an interseting video clip. It is about 7 minutes long and you have to wait to the end to see how it relates to the FairTax. The last question asked of the guest is the most important and is an issue that the FairTax directly addresses.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=763441703
Shawn, That is an excellent video that provides insight as to WHY we need to get rid of the current tax code.
What has been discussed at many Fair Tax rallies is the estimated $35 TRILLION (I believe that is the number) that is parked off the shores of America.
If just a fraction of that comes back to America, imagine the economic growth that could ensue.
But, not including this type of event, under the Fair Tax, economists are estimating an increase in economic activity to the tune of about 10%.
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