Category Archives: Fair Tax

Budget “Deal” Reached, But

What do you call a budget deal that spends $63 Billion of “settled law” called the sequester? I call it a Republican surrender. Never mind that since the sequester began, the Obama administration has claimed some economic recovery. And never mind that the sequester passed with bi-partisan support.

For un-sequestering $63 Billion dollars today and for the next eighteen months, the deal promises reductions totaling $85 Billion elsewhere. But that’s not for today or the next two years. That’s for the next ten years. Who in their right mind believes this will happen?

But that’s not even the most insane talking point the House and Senate Republican leadership is touting. They use buzz words like “specific deficit-reduction provisions” and “mandatory savings” and “non-tax revenue” that makes up this fictitious $85 Billion number. And “if you’re for deficit reduction, you’re for this agreement.” The snake oil they’re selling is that this agreement would cut the deficit by between $20 and $23 Billion, as if that actually means something. They call it “a step in the right direction.” It’s surrender. It’s means nothing more than trying to look relevant in standing up to Democrats for the sake of getting something done. It’s not going to stop demagoguery from Democrats. It’s not much more than moving the deck chairs around on the Titanic.

With a national debt of $17 Trillion, $23 Billion is like a mouse fart in a hurricane. There’s no serious attempt, not even the slightest attempt, to deal with the debt and deficit spending whatsoever. It’s like driving over the cliff at 60 miles per hour instead of 65.

Speaker Boehner is hoping to win something by playing defense with the Democrats. Mr. Speaker, you don’t win anything by playing defense. What Speaker Boehner is doing is effectively managing the decline of the Republican party. He’s doing it in two ways. By budget deals like this, which will rise its head again in time for the 2016 general election when he’ll once again cower to the demagoguery of the Left. And by attacking republicans in the House and throughout the country. Republicans who want to see real evidence of getting to a balanced budget, which necessarily means working toward not spending more than we take in, (to quote President Obama) PERIOD. I recall that that’s what they were elected and sent to Washington to do. And he can start by putting an end to the insane “baseline budgeting” scheme. If you and I can’t use baseline budgeting, what on earth makes any sane person think that the government should? They should be forced to justify every dollar of their budget before it is allocated.

This budget deal dodges a bullet. To win seats, Speaker Boehner needs to go on offense and shoot one of his own. He needs to carry a republican platform instead of a democrat-lite platform. He needs to talk about bold tax reform like the FairTax. Something that eliminates the current, punitive IRS tax code.  He needs to talk up health care reform like H.R.2300, the private-sector solution. And what better time to do that? And he needs to talk about how unleashing the economic engine of the country, achieving true energy independence, creating jobs, and putting people back to work again will turn this ship around. That’s what the American people want. And that’s something that, so far, only Republicans have a chance at delivering. Problem is, I’m not so sure Speaker Boehner has what it takes to get us there.

Kerry Bowers For President In 2016

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I am pleased to announce and pass along this video of Kerry Bowers’ bid for President of the United States for 2016.

Aside from a long career in the United States Air Force, Kerry has been actively involved in communities and states where he and Deb have lived. For the last several years as volunteer State Director for Americans For Fair Taxation, AFFT, and before that as Co-District Director for the Panhandlle District of the Florida FairTax Education Association, FFTEA. As a supporter of the FairTax myself, this is where and how I met Kerry and Deb.

Kerry Bowers is not only a man of principle, a believer in the Constitution and Bill of Rights, but a humanitarian too. His platform on more topics than any other candidate dare shake a stick at are available, right now, on his website KerryBowers.com. Your path to Restoring America’s Blessings starts there. Read his platform. It isn’t a laundry list of complaints and finger pointing. Rather, it is a laundry list of solutions. It also better equips you to ask questions of other candidates and probe what their solution may be. If they even have one.

Because of his openness and honesty, you know what you can expect when you vote for him in a primary election, then hopefully in the 2016 general election. He shows you where his fiscal priorities are by showing you his proposed budget for 2015. Ever seen another candidate do that? Then there is our current president who won’t make one. There’s no political smoke and mirrors with Kerry Bowers. You can expect a thoughtful and constitutionally based opinion or decision on any topic. He believes in the power of the people as opposed to the power of the government. He sees, like you see, an oppressive government now. A government that is holding America back. He knows the key to more and better paying jobs, economic recovery, and the return of, and to, family values is in reforming more than just the tax code. It must also include reforming the government. Or as he puts it, Restoring America’s Blessings.

As he states in this video, he is setting the standard for the presidential candidates of 2016. In my humble opinion, you owe it to your family and our country to visit his website and check him out.

Link: Full Transcript of the 2016 Presidential Campaign announcement video

Leo Linbeck, Jr. Dies, Philanthropist, FairTax Co-Founder

More than just a co-founder of the FairTax. Leo Linbeck, Jr. was a visionary and philanthropist. It was his efforts along with two other wealthy friends, Robert McNair and Jack Trotter, that shared the vision of a tax system that was fair, simple, transparent, and conducive to economic growth. Never before has anyone thought that a tax system, by definition, could be conducive to economic growth. It was their joint efforts, and their $22 million that paid for the years of research that ultimately ended up as the FairTax. The most thoroughly researched tax system that treats taxpayers with respect, and none of it done with taxpayer dollars.

Statement from Americans For Fair Taxation® on the passing of chairman and co-founder

Leo E. Linbeck, Jr.

Linbeck-SMFairTax® giant devoted the past 20 years to championing fair and transparent federal taxation

HOUSTON, TX – June 8, 2013 – Americans For Fair Taxation® (AFFT) announced today the passing of its Chairman and Co-founder Leo Edward Linbeck, Jr.

“The American people have lost a giant who championed simple and fair taxation for everyone,” said Cynthia T. Canevaro, AFFT national campaign manager. “Leo Linbeck, Jr., has devoted 20+ years passionately advocating for fair and transparent federal taxation for all citizens regardless of income or social standing.  He was committed to replacing the income tax, a system that favors special interests while punishing taxpayers at every level, with a national consumption tax that taxes citizens not on what they earn, but on what they spend on new goods and services.”  The Plan includes the repeal of the 16thAmendment and the elimination of the IRS.

Linbeck was a nationally known Houston businessman and philanthropist.  He was a longtime Chairman of Linbeck Construction Corp., a firm founded by his father in 1938 and ranked in 2012 by ENR as the sixth largest building contractor in the U.S. specializing in general building construction for the private sector.  At the time of his death, he also served as Chairman of Aquinas Corporation, a holding company for the Linbeck Group.

In 1995, Linbeck joined forces with Robert C. McNair, founder, chairman and CEO of the Houston Texans NFL team, and Jack Trotter (now deceased), to found Americans For Fair Taxation®.  The grassroots organization works relentlessly to build national support for the FairTax®, a national consumption tax plan that treats every person equally and allows American businesses to thrive while generating the same tax revenue as the current four-million-plus word income tax code.

“Leo Linbeck recognized 20 years ago the destructive nature of the income tax and how unfair, overly complex, and impossible it is to administer.” said Canevaro. “He poured his time, resources, energy and unwavering passion into advancing the FairTax; a system that allows Americans to keep their whole paycheck while only paying taxes on what they spend, not what they earn.”  She added,  “We have truly lost an American hero and Patriot, one whose vision will live on among FairTax supporters nationwide. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Bette, the entire Linbeck family and the legion of friends who now mourn his passing.”

 

We at Fair Tax Nation are saddend by the passing of Mr. Linbeck, Jr. We will continue our work to make his dream come true — to pass the Fair Tax.

Marilyn Rickert

10 Items Whose Prices Have Jumped the Most in the Past 10 Years

You’re paying 145% more to heat your home and about 100% more to put a gallon of gas in your car today than you did 10 years ago. And you can thank the EPA anddollar environmentalist wackos for the top two.

All of them, except possibly #9, are the result of either government regulation or the political influence of labor unions and special interest contributions. You lose.

  1. Fuel oil and other fuels (for home): 145%
  2. Gasoline (all types) for cars: 108%
  3. College tuition: 88%
  4. Hospital services: 85%
  5. College textbooks: 83%
  6. Elementary and high school tuition and fees: 67%
  7. Beef and veal: 64.8%
  8. Eggs: 58%
  9. Veterinarian services: 63%
  10. Tax return preparation and other accounting fees: 51%

Sure makes the case for smaller government and the FairTax doesn’t it?

Link: 10 Items Whose Prices Have Jumped the Most in the Past 10 Years

Tax Credit Bonanza For Illegal Immigrants?

Can’t think of a better way to just slit this country’s throat. Why do Democrats like Schumer hate this country so much that they’re willing to lay down our sovereignty and heritage? Too embarrassed to be proud of America at the expense of political party dominance. Do you know of any country that would pay illegal immigrants to come and for being here illegally?

It’s no wonder Democrats won’t consider the FairTax. It doesn’t allow for income redistribution like this.

Tax credit bonanza for illegal immigrants? | The Daily Caller.

FairTax, The Right Alternative

Under the FairTax, all the controversy in the news today, from IRS abuse, to tax favors, to tax punishments, will disappear. Gone! The immense size of the IRS? Gone! The immense cost of compliance to taxpayers? Gone!

fairtax_pyramid

The term “take home pay” becomes obsolete. No more federal deductions. You take home everything you make. Can you handle that? Oh, and April 15th becomes just another day in paradise.

Under the FairTax, other terms like “tax exempt status” and “mortgage deduction” also become obsolete. Under the FairTax, no contributions you make or receive are taxable. And since your mortgage payment will now be made in ‘pre-tax’ dollars, you have nothing to deduct your mortgage interest payments from.

All the taxes you and businesses are paying now? Gone! What’s left is a simple, transparent, and fair consumption tax. Period. Fair to individuals and business. The FUD factor disappears. Business and individual investment decisions no longer include factoring in the Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt about tax consequences because those decisions become tax neutral.

The motivation to shelter trillions of dollars offshore disappears. That money can stay right here and be put to work without any tax penalty. All by itself, the FairTax is an economic stimulus that doesn’t involve spending, borrowing, or increasing the national debt.

The FairTax is the means to fund the government whose time has come.

 

aSide Order

First Amendment Not For Everyone

Your First Amendment rights don’t mean much in Gaines Township, Michigan. Authorities there said that Vern Verduin, a cattle farmer who believes that President Obama’s political goals are destructive and inconsistent with American values, can’t put his trailer on his land with this message. More here.

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The Left’s Attack On Dr. Ben Carson Begins

Aside from exhibiting the denial that Blacks in America are not all cut from the dependent role that Democrats expect them to play, like not straying from the Democrat Plantation, this race baiter, Touré Neblett on MSNBC, chooses to demagogue the Tide of God. Carson’s point was not whether Tide is regressive, but that in principle, everyone have some skin in the game.

And how do you like the attachment of Dr. Carson to Republicans by this Touré character? I have yet to hear Carson declare his political party affiliation. It’s true that he is being courted by conservatives to run for elected office. But all Dr. Ben Carson has been talking about are issues, problems, and his thoughts on how best to solve them, all in a non-political and common sense way. Touré’s attack is evidence enough that Democrats are feeling threatened by Dr. Carson. It’s the Chicago way to politically eliminate threats like him ASAP, which is what Touré (on NBC) is attempting to do here.

Where ‘flat’ taxes are concerned, the FairTax, although flat, is NOT regressive. But to say he is wrong about flat taxes being regressive might, in some corners of the far Left, qualify me for being racist. Oh well. Who is it playing the race card here?

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Most Effective Rape Whistle

Georgia, Replace Income Tax With Consumption Tax

Georgia Sen. David Shafer, the Duluth Republican who is serving as Senate president pro tem, dropped two bills this week that could convert state David_Shaferfunding to the consumption tax. The move, he said, could make Georgia more competitive with places like Florida and Tennessee, which do not charge an income tax.

“I’ve always believed we should tax consumption instead of production,” Shafer said, echoing the argument for the federal FairTax, which U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall has advocated since taking over for the original sponsor John Linder after his retirement from Congress.

Link: Shafer proposes ‘fair tax’ for state

FairTax, S 122, Introduced In 113th Congress

Watch Sen. Saxby Chambliss introduce the FairTax, S122, into the Senate today.

 

FairTax Act Cover Sheet

Please share with everyone you know. The FairTax is an economic stimulus all by itself, aside from being the easiest and most transparent, and most researched system of revenue collection for the federal government ever proposed.

For more information about the FairTax, visit the national website, FairTax.org.

FairTax Video

Seven features of an effective tax system. An effective tax system is one that can meet all seven.

  1. SIMPLE. It should be easy to understand.
  2. FAIR. Has the same rules for everyone. Emphasis on EVERYONE.
  3. VISIBLE. Taxpayers can plainly see the taxes they pay and the cost of government in their lives.
  4. NEUTRAL. The revenue needed to sustain the government and the system of taxation to collect it, must not interfere with the economic choices of people, business, and corporations.
  5. EFFICIENT. An efficient tax code will, minimize administrative and enforcement details for the government, minimize compliance details for the taxpayer, and maximize cost effectiveness for the government and the taxpayer.
  6. STABLE. All the features that make the tax system effective also serve to reduce the need for frequent changes to it, thus people, businesses and corporations can plan accordingly for the future because of the stability inherent to the tax system.
  7. FOSTER ECONOMIC GROWTH. The tax code must be free of any obstructions and penalties that deter capital investment and domestic businesses which in turn obstruct job growth and the potential for greater wages. It also must be free of any details that deter any individual’s motivation to work, save, and invest.

Of paramount importance in items six and seven is the elimination of uncertainty. It is the uncertainty that any decision a person, business, or industry makes might come back to bite them in an ever-changing taxing environment.

The current IRS code fails to meet all seven elements. Time for bold and real tax reform has come. Let your federal representative know that you support H.R.25 in the House.

UPDATE: Rep. Rob Woodall (R-GA7) introduced H.R.25 into the 113th Congress yesterday Jan 3, 2013. The Senate version cannot be introduced until January 22 at the earliest.

And to further illustrate the need for a more efficient tax code, look how much difficulty our Treasury Secretary had in paying his taxes.

Here’s a snapshot of how complexity begets uncertainty.

According to government figures, there have been approximately 4,428 tax code changes in the last 10 years, including an estimated 579 changes in 2010 alone. Based on an analysis early last year, the tax code had grown from 1.4 million words to 3.8 million words just since 2001. Between 1986 (the last major tax reform) and 2005, Congress passed 14,400 amendments to the tax code – an average of 2.9 changes every day for the full 19 years.

By contrast, the entire FairTax bill is 145 pages.