I'm planning to read this book, the idea sounds too simple. Of course government doesn't like simple things. The more complicated the better so the more tax money they can confiscate and waste.

The book is well worth reading and understanding. It is a great idea who's time has come.

You may also imagine the drop in the cost of goods and services when business no longer has to collect tax, pay tax, keep records for years on end, pay for tax preparation or make any business decision based on how the decision will be effected by tax.

The drop in costs of goods and services, in most cases, will drop more than the tax that you will have to pay.

I have written Howard Coble's office three times asking him to co-sponsor this bill. I get the usual response"thank you for contacting Mr.Coble. Your letter will be taken under consideration..." Blah ,blah,blah. Mr.Linder and the sponsors of this bill say there is a very good chance that SOME form of tax reform will come out of it. But IMO they are in for a fight with the politicans who depend on the IRS and the tax code to buy votes and maintain control over the population of this country via the redistribution of wealth. Good luck!

The "Fair"tax is not as fair as this writer makes it sound. There are some major problems with it.

First, that 23% sales tax is tax-inclusive. If you figure the tax the way normal people do, called tax-exclusive, then the percentage is more like 30% and William Gale of the Brookings Institute said it could go as high as 67%.

Second, imagine all the people who work for the IRS, because they will all lose their jobs. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were approximately 1.1 million accounting and auditing jobs held in the US. The majority of these jobs will no longer be necessary.

Third, the FairTax will also affect other industries, including the Construction Industry and the Auto Industry. The sales tax is not applied to re-sale items. So imagine you have to decide between two houses, both worth $100,000, but one is brand new and one is a re-sale. If the fair tax is implemented, the new house would require you to pay an extra 30% in taxes but the re-sale would not. Which one would you choose? The same thing for new and used cars. I imagine that not very many people will choose the new house or car.

And last, the FairTax will actually raise taxes for households in the bottom 90% while households in the top 1% get a tax cut. Since businesses are no longer paying any taxes, the revenue must be made up by individuals who are the least able to pay it.

Now I know that Neal Boortz and this book has a big following but I think this tax system would cause major damage to our economy.

From what he describes, there would be no capital gains tax. Therefore, the rich could just invest all their money and live off the interest in perpetuity.

Don't throw out a very reasonable and workable idea just because those despised among us, the rich, might benefit more than the rest of us. This idea at least lets us decide if we want to pay taxes. And for goodness sakes don't worry about a million or so bureaucrats losing their jobs...there are more than enough to be supported.

Keep in mind...no one was ever hired by a poor person. Long live the rich...and may we all be so endowed some day.

Kisler, obviously you have not read the proposed tax plan and do not understand it. All households will receive a check every month for what is considered the tax that will be paid that month on necessity's. That makes everyone in the country that is at the poverty level or below it living tax free. Those same people will no longer have Social Security, income tax withholding and Medicare tax held out of their pay check. They will then make more money than they were before and not be paying any tax at all.

Yes, a lot those people who work for the IRS will not have jobs. That means that you won't be paying their salaries and benefits any more. Hence government costs less and taxes go down accordingly. I find it quite nice that those jobs won't be funded anymore.

Yes, a new car will be taxed, a used car won't. When all the used cars are bought and you want a car what will you do? And, those new cars will cost less when all of the layers of tax are removed from the cost to produce them. Again a win/win for the consumer.

Under this plan tax is paid by everyone who spends money above the poverty level. Won't matter if the person is an illegal alien, a visitor to the country, a criminal drug dealer or whom ever you can think of when something new is purchased. It is estimated that the underground economy is around 10 Trillion Dollars a year. Under this plan tax will start being collected on it. There will be a surplus of money flowing to the government and our job will be to control how it is spent and get the tax rate reduced.

That is just a start on the errors in your post, why don't you educate yourself on the FairTax before you try and figure out why it won't work?

Mac,

If people don't have Social Security deducted from their paychecks, how does it get calculated?

Correction of wording: (sure wish they would get an edit option on here)

The people at or below poverty level will no longer have SS, Income and Medicare Tax taken from the money that they have already worked for and earned. The Government will no longer take their income away from them at the point of a gun. Hence they will take home what they earn and they alone will determine when, how and how much tax they will pay. It will no longer be assumed that all money you earn belongs to the government which then decides how much of it you may keep.

Jim, Social Security payments are based on a chart, the chart still exists. SS payments to individuals would still be paid just as they are now.

What will change is the made up term "Social Security Fund". It doesn't exist. All money taken from you called Social Security goes right in the general fund and is spent along with the rest of the taxes that are collected.

The FairTax just recognizes that fact and eliminates all cost to the employer to collect, match, keep records of, send checks off and give you a statement at the end of the year. It is no longer needed. And, yes, those poor folks at the SS Administration that are involved in collecting that tax will need a new job. And that makes for the government taking the cost to support them from your pocket.

Crap. That is the government will NOT be taking the cost to support them from your pocket.

"It is estimated that the underground economy is around 10 Trillion Dollars a year. Under this plan tax will start being collected on it."

Uh, under the old plan taxes are suppose to be collected too. So this will make the dishonest honest how?

Me thinks you oversell this my friend & undersell the fact that if the rich are (hugely) favored and the poor are exempted, then someone has to pick up the slack. Wonder who that might be?

Marshall,

I was wondering about that underground economy myself. Does that mean when Jimmy buys his weekly fix of dope, suddenly he will be taxed 25% on it?

Marshall, it is very simple. When someone buys something the tax will be collected.

If you put your money in the bank or other investment, you get to put all of it in there not what is left over after the government takes what it wants.

About half of what you make is being taken by government, actual taxes or hidden taxes but they are getting it. So if you say want to put $100 in a savings account right now you need to earn $200 to do it. Under the FairTax, if you make that $200 it you can spend it and pay the tax on purchases or put all of it in the bank to earn interest. You don't pay tax on the interest.

And in that regard 401K programs will become obsolete. There will be no need to shelter savings from government taking of your profit. No penalties for getting your own money out. No tax on interest that you earn.

Anyone remember the administration that asked for, pushed for, and received the taxation of interest on savings, checking, and other banking accounts?

I do, let's see if anyone else recalls who it was!

Mac,

I understand that but there are more than 1 way to play a cash only economy and a 30% savings (after you add in local sales tax) is a tempting target.

Don't understand why everyone has their "draws" in such a knot. It ain't gonna happen as long as we have money hungry politicians who insist on taking our money to buy votes to allow them to continue to take our money.

Don't understand why everyone has their "draws" in such a knot. It ain't gonna happen as long as we have money hungry politicians who insist on taking our money to buy votes to allow them to continue to take our money.