I and a core group have volunteered over five years of our lives to bring the FairTax to our area.  We consider it to be the best example of tax reform and one that would be very good for our people, our economy, and our country.  Without question we have managed to produce a higher level of knowledge about the proposal.  What we have been unable to produce is a large, motivated group of citizens ready to come forward and create the level of public pressure necessary to move the politicians to enact the pending FairTax legislation (H.R.-25).

Other reformers support some kind of flat tax, an entirely different version of tax reform.  While the FairTax taxes consumption, the flat tax taxes income.  The FairTax requires neither the completion of paperwork nor the presence of the IRS; the flat tax requires both.  The FairTax provides progressivity by refunding the tax on basic goods and services; the flat tax does it by providing targeted exemptions.  The FairTax is a single proposal; the flat tax takes numerous forms.

In spite of differences in approach, supporters of the FairTax and a flat tax share one common goal: total replacement of the current system with a new one.  Supporters of each plan must work together to promote reform.

Among our citizens, much as for the weather, almost every one talks about hating the federal income tax but relatively no one is doing anything about it.  We manage to find the time to devote to activities we believe in but, in the matter of tax reform, few sense the urgency.  If it’s urgency you want, let me figuratively hand you a freshly lit, giant firecracker: the Value-added Tax (or VAT).

The VAT is commonly used in Europe and is usually combined with high levels of government-provided services.  It is the ultimate in hidden taxation that works by adding a tax to every stage in the development of a good or service for public consumption.  All the levies are totaled and added to the usual cost of the item.  Most VAT’s start at low rates and proceed quickly and stealthily to high levels, on the order of 20%.  This raises the price of everything by that amount and, in our country, would be enacted to supplement the income tax!  The money that can be raised is huge and it would all come from our wallets.

For weeks, since the Obama Administration’s influential economic advisor Paul Volcker declared the VAT must be considered, political and economic commentators have been a-buzz with the possibility of adding it to the income tax.  Although the motive might be to reduce the deficit, history shows that spending will rise to match the new income. 

Just think, all the pleasures of the current income tax plus an expensive sales tax on most everything we buy!  And, the VAT is such a mysterious tax that it can be increased at will with the public hard pressed to know what is going on.  It has been said that if the VAT is enacted it will kill all other options for tax reform

Only one thing can prevent Congress from introducing the VAT: an aroused public that makes clear their opposition to such a step and demands true reform.  Roanoke Area FairTax, flat tax supporters, Tea Parties, and reformers of all stripes need to unify to produce a loud, unmistakable message: the current tax code needs to go!  A good place to start is to support passage of Rep. Bob Goodlatte’s “Tax Code Termination Act (H.R.-982)” that calls for termination of the income tax code by a date certain, with the replacement to be decided later.

A community that can muster only 40 people on a Saturday morning to view an excellent film on our current tax situation is clearly not a threat to balky legislators who are unwilling to take the lead on tax reform.  It is the community that holds the key.  All it has to do is care.  And, make sure that Congress knows it cares.  Make your tax reform voices heard!

NOTE: This commentary was published in the Roanoke (Va.) Times on May 5, 2010 (http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/commentary/wb/245660).

Operation FairTax Victory, a two-part national event in Washington, DC will bring citizen support for the FairTax to the Nation’s Capitol.  On April 15^th there will be a Storm The Hill rally, in which supporters will approach their Congressional representatives in their offices in a very visible media event to demand their support for the FairTax bill (H.R. 25) and for its consideration during the upcoming Congressional session.  On the 16^th there will be speakers and workshops/seminars to provide education, training, and techniques so attendees can better promote the FairTax within their home states.

Speakers for the session include: Mr. Terry Stockham, COO of Americans for FairTaxation (AFFT) (the originators of the FairTax proposal); Mr. Leo Linbeck, Chairman of AFFT (a major force in the creation of the proposal); Dr. Lawrence Kotlikoff, Professor of Economics, Boston University (instrumental in the development of the proposal), on “Economics of the FairTax;” Pastor David Whitney, constitutional scholar, Institute on the Constitution, “Constitutional FairTaxation;” and Mr. Clyde Prestowitz, author, “Three Billion Capitalists….” 

The workshops/seminars include: “Social Networking Online” and “Legislative Lobbying,” presented by the Leadership Institute; “Grass Routes,” presented by Grass Roots Freedom Riders – help plan the route for the Grass Roots Freedom Ride for the  FairTax; and a video/discussion of the book, “So Damn Much Money,” by Robert Kaiser, led by Phil Hanson, AFFT Eastern Regional Director. 

This is a big effort, organized by FairTax Nation, to join together individual FairTax supporters and enthusiasts into a movement that will drive the FairTax bill into the mainstream of Washington politics.  We should give it all the support we can manage.  We hope to register 1,000 volunteers nationwide.  More event information is at: http://www.FairTaxNation.com.    Register NOW!

If you can’t make the trip to Washington DC on April 15th, join our FairTax group at the Grandin Theater on Saturday,  May 1^st  at 10:00 am (rescheduled from an earlier post) for the premier screening of the 90-minute movie, “An Inconvenient Tax“.  The movie features the views of John Linder (lead sponsor of H.R. 25 in the House of Representatives), Neal  Boortz (talk-show host and author of “The FairTax Book” and “FairTax: The Truth, Answering The Critics), Mike Huckabee (2008 Republican presidential contender and strong FairTax supporter), Herman Cain (businessman, author, radio commentator, and strong FairTax supporter), and several noted economists, all focusing on the solutions to our onerous tax code. 

This country is going to implode under the weight of its debt and spending if something isn’t done NOW! Although the movie covers several approaches, we believe the best solution, bar none, is the FairTax. We all need to become informed and involved!  Knowledge is power.  Please join us and bring your friends, especially those who are unfamiliar with or are skeptics of the FairTax.  Tickets are $5.00 (to cover our costs) and seating is limited.  Please order your tickets by emailing us at raft@cox.net  or calling 540-529-1901 or 540-580-3098.  We’ll have handouts containing key Congressional committee phone numbers, as well as your Senator’s and Congressman’s phone numbers. The concession stand will be open….so come and have lunch! 

Help spread the word!

For further details of the event, go to http://YorkTeaParty.org/next or contact the event coordinator at: alexanderofyork@yorkteaparty.org or 757/593-1719

On facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=276727814279

Warning: No alchohol beverages are permitted, but you can bring coolers of sodas and sandwiches as you like.

This group highly supports the FairTax, and has had FairTax speakers at past events. We need a fresh voice. care to talk for ten minutes about the FairTax? For past speaches (we’d like something new, if possible), see: http://www.yorkteaparty.org/speeches   Get reminders on your mobile, Yahoo! Messenger, and email. ]]> http://www.roanokeareafairtax.com/va-fairtax-mrch/feed 0 http://www.roanokeareafairtax.com/fairtax-in-missouri http://www.roanokeareafairtax.com/fairtax-in-missouri#comments Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:13:35 +0000 jackie bledsoe http://www.roanokeareafairtax.com/?p=458 Voters in Missouri may get the chance to vote on the FairTax in November. Here’s what the FairTax proposal (SJR29) in Missouri would look like: Here’s how one Missouri website explains the proposal:

• Repeal state’s 6 percent individual income tax, 6.25 percent corporate income tax and franchise tax beginning Jan. 1, 2012.
• Replace lost revenue with a greatly expanded and higher sales tax.
• Tax items and services that are currently exempt, including groceries, prescription drugs, medical care and K-12 private schooling.
• Eliminate all tax credits, such as those for historic preservation and maternity homes.
• Exempt business-to-business transactions, used goods and college tuition.
• Give all households a “prebate” to cover higher sales taxes on spending up to the poverty level.
• Require two-thirds vote by Legislature to enact more tax exemptions.

NOTE DAY AND DATE CHANGE :  NOW MAY 1ST 10:00 AM

This is a big effort, organized by FairTax Nation, to join together individual FairTax supporters and enthusiasts into a movement that will move the FairTax bill into the mainstream of Washington politics.  We should give it all the support we can manage.  Register NOW!

The VAT taxes the value added to each step of production of every good or service. For example, the addition of a windshield to a work-in-progress new car would require a tax on the increase in value of the car. Providers of goods and services will, of course, pass these taxes along to consumers as costs of production; i.e., as higher prices. In effect, the VAT is a sales tax imposed on all goods and services deemed to be subject to the tax. Further, the complexity of keeping track of all these mini-taxes is such that the VAT is only cost-effective if the tax is high enough. This could result in the tax rate being set at 10-15% and it is further subject to the whims of Congress when it comes to raising the rate.

The VAT, as a flat-rate tax on most of what we buy or consume, is extremely regressive. Unlike the income tax, which has been twisted and contorted in order to give a break to this group or that person, the VAT hits everyone with the same bat. The poor will pay a greater percentage of their expenditures in tax than those of higher income. Only a further set of contortions can relieve this certainty. Bring on thousands more pages of tax regulations!

Fortunately, many of us in the Roanoke Valley are served by a Congressman, Bob Goodlatte, who can be counted upon to vote against a VAT proposal as often as it comes up. Other Congressmen serving our region are not so certain, nor are our two Senators. We need to contact our wavering representatives often and with a simple message: The VAT – Don’t even think about it!

There is an alternative to the income tax with or without the VAT: the FairTax. It provides for the elimination of the income tax and the IRS leading to a whole bunch of changes. Instead of taxing “earned income,” which seems to include money made from any source whatsoever, it taxes only money spent to make a purchase. Since earned income is not taxed there is no need for payroll and withholding taxes and you go home with your full paycheck. There are some workers who, having had their checks reduced in this way for so long, don’t know what their full wage is! Wait, there’s more! Each legal, resident family will receive a monthly refund for the FairTax that will be paid on expenses up to that family’s poverty level meaning that the poorest among us will, unlike the income tax and especially the VAT, pay no tax at all. The rich, on the other hand, will hardly notice the prebate. Between these extremes, every family will have some of its taxes refunded with the most effect felt at the lower incomes.

The income tax is already included in the costs of goods and services by virtue of hidden taxes collected from providers. The VAT would double down on this at every level of production. On the other hand, the FairTax would eliminate all of these taxes! Consequently, as the costs of new goods and services drop – the average amount is 22% – the FairTax is inserted at the level of 23%. Prices would remain essentially at the income-taxed level and well below the plus-VAT level. In fact, had the FairTax been effect a year or so ago, its full-paycheck property would have provided a strong stimulus on its own.

Act now to stop the tax madness! Tell your federal legislators: income tax…NO; VAT…NO; FairTax…YES. Reach them as follows: Perriello – 202-225-4711; Boucher – 202-225-3861; Warner – 202-224-2023; Webb – 202-224-4024. Let them hear from you.

For further information, see www.RoanokeAreaFairTax.com, www.FairTaxNation.com, www.FairTax.org, www.franklincountypatriots.net, and www.RoanokeTeaParty.com.

Most of us have heard about “Twitter” and “Facebook.” These and others are social networking sites designed to allow rapid communication to bazillions of “Followers.” There is another site, “FairTax Nation,” that does the same thing except its primary function is to unite supporters of the FairTax. Its founder is connected to the leadership of Americans for Fair Taxation (AFFT), the group that created and is promoting the FairTax. As I write, they have over 6,200 members.

FairTax Nation (FTN) is attempting to mobilize ordinary citizens around the nation to create a large force of motivated people to advance knowledge of and advocacy for the FairTax. Recently, in association with the successful “9/12 March on Washington,” FTN organized a march on Congress to bring the message into the Congressional office buildings. This power to reach and organize large numbers of committed advocates is what FTN offers that is beyond the local efforts of groups like Roanoke Area FairTax.

I invite all visitors to this site to visit and join FairTax Nation. Further, I urge you to become part of the group on that site devoted to bringing together local supporters both to bring our local efforts to the attention of the nation and to bring national efforts to our area. Access FairTax Nation at www.FairTaxNation.com or by clicking on “FairTax Nation” at the upper right corner of this website under “Blogroll.” Join up and become a member also of “Roanoke Area FairTax” group on the site. I hope you will become my “Friend” and help me to contribute to the national effort to get the FairTax passed.

Submitted by Donald A. Koop