"FAIRTAX NEWS

Neal Boortz

"Sometime in the next few weeks those in charge of the Republican campaign this Fall will be deciding whether or not to make the FairTax a prominent part of the campaign agenda.  In the meantime, the FairTax continues to draw much attention both inside the Beltway and in newspaper and magazine editorials, columns and stories.

My search engine spat out an article  http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/news/0083.html  that appeared on an Internet site called "Atlanta Progressive News" this morning.  This article was typical of the tactic that Democrats have chosen to use to combat this tax reform idea.  That tactic?  Lies.  Simple as that.

This is perhaps my biggest surprise since co-authoring The FairTax Book with Congressman John Linder.  In order to critique the FairTax plan opponents find it absolutely necessary to either re-write H.R. 25 and then criticize the FairTax Bill as they have re-written it (the approach used by the president's tax reform commission) or they just simply flat-out lie about the FairTax without first going through their re-write process.

Here's a paragraph from the article"

"Linder's extremist plan would create a disproportionate burden on the poor to finance government, while letting the rich pay only a tiny fraction of their wealth, and possibly bankrupting the federal government."

OK ... let's see.  "A disproportionate burden on the poor"?  Even the tax reform commission said that the FairTax was the only tax reform idea out there that completely un-taxed the poor in this country.  Isn't that odd?  The president's tax reform commission said the FairTax completely un-taxes the poor, and the Progressive News says that it would create a disproportionate burden on the poor.  And what is the truth?  Under the FairTax the so-called "poor" would pay no federal income tax, no social security tax, no Medicare tax, no capital gains tax ... none of it.  The consumer goods they buy would cost essentially the same as they did under the old income tax scheme, and they would receive the prebate that would completely reimburse them for the sales tax they pay on all purchases right up to the poverty level.  Now that is what the Progressive News calls a disproportionate burden on the poor.

Moving on ...

What about the "...letting the rich pay only a fraction of their wealth ..." line?  Guess what?  We have a federal income tax, folks.  Not a wealth tax.  The rich don't pay taxes on their wealth now ... just on their income.  Many rich people are out of the income-earning business now and have been for quite some time.  They dip into their pool of wealth and spend a million bucks for a motor home and the federal government gets nothing.  Not so under the FairTax.  The motor home will still cost around a million bucks ... but $230,000 of it goes to the federal government.  This is what Progressive News calls " ... letting the rich pay only a fraction of their wealth."  Finally we have a tax reform idea that actually taxes wealth!  And the left ignores it. 

Now this next line from the Progressive News is entirely predictable.  They refer to the FairTax as a 30% sales tax.  Let's see ... you buy something for $100 and $23 goes to the federal government.  Now when I went to a government school $23 was 23% of $100.  Things may have changed in the way we teach math ... but I think that old rule still holds. 

I've explained this all before ... but the FairTax is calculated as an inclusive sales tax because that is the way we calculate income taxes.  Simply put, if you earn $1000 and you're in a 25% tax bracket, you pay $250 in taxes.  If you spend $1000 and the FairTax rate is 23% you pay $230 in taxes.

So why do opponents like to quote the 30% rate for the FairTax but not for the income tax?  Very simple.  Because they favor the income tax over the FairTax.  They like the way that the income tax can be used for social engineering.  They love the fact that under the income tax favors can be granted to friends while punishment can be meted out to enemies.  So they quote the income tax at it's correct inclusive rate while quoting the FairTax at a false exclusive rate.  They know that the American people aren't exactly bright enough to discern the difference ... so the tactic works for them.

Why do these people hate the FairTax so?  The FairTax accomplishes several goals dear to the left for decades.  It un-taxes the poor and taxes wealth!  What's not to love?

It's just this simple.  Take a look at the people who love the FairTax, and the people who loath it.  You will  find that those who love the idea have an appreciation of their sense of individuality and want to handle much of the responsibility for their own lives.  Those who oppose the FairTax generally disdain the idea of individualism and feel that America is great because of its government.  Since the passage of the FairTax would constitute the largest transfer of power from government to the people in the history of our Republic, it is something that the left must fight.  "

http://boortz.com/nuze/200608/08292006.html#fairtax