financial well-being of our offspring, does it?
TAXES
ATTN: All GOP Congressmen and Senators:
It looks like the democrats are trying to steal your idea:
Demos drafting own Contract with America
Conservatives waited 40 years to win control of both House of Congress and in 1994 this feat was achieved. You gave us "The Contract With America" that resonated well. Many points of the Contract were passed, some were hung up in the Senate and some were vetoed. Now we have a chance to accomplish greater things with a GOP POTUS...but you may lose control of Congress, without an agenda. You've already lost control of the Senate.
YOUR Problem:
Eighty Eight years ago Congress gave us an income tax system that has steadily grown so abusive, intrusive and incomprehensible that even accountants, CPAs and Tax Attorneys struggle to make heads or tails out of it. Even the Internal Revenue Service has trouble understanding their own code and there is no guarantee that anyone can correctly prepare a tax return. You have heard the testimony about the abuses of the US Tax Code, and you have certainly heard from your constituency on this issue. Do you want to continue to dance the "TipToe Through The Taxcode Tinkering Tango", or do you want to abolish the damn thing?
Congress has made over 6,000 changes to the Internal Revenue Code just since 1986. There have been over 800 tax code changes in the past two years. It is now 2.8 million words of contradictory, punitive gibberish. These changes were not designed to make government smaller with lower taxes, but to reward the thousands of Gucci Gulch Lobbyists in Washington that garner favor for their clients through the tax code who give you big bucks for your re-election campaign.
The net effect of this tax code is that taxes now take over 50% of a family's income - driving them to hold down two jobs to achieve what one used to do. Our current tax system has created a nation of "haves and have-nots". Why continue to endorse a tax system that has been shifting the tax burden down the income scale onto the backs of American workers from the time of its enactment and then giving them back their money in corrupt social programs?
According to the Tax Foundation, in a report a few years ago:
"From 1981 to 1999, the federal government increased what it collects per person more than 45 percent,"..."Americans will spend more money per capita in 1999 on taxes ($10,298) than on food ($2,693), clothing ($1,404),
and shelter ($5,833) combined". Does that mean in another 18 years our children and grandchildren will pay over $20,000 per year to "feed the beast"? Even with a GOP Congress, spending has increased. The Founding Fathers Never Intended that there be an Income Tax.
If you in Congress continue to rob Peter to pay Paul, we know you will always have Paul's vote. If you are able to convince enough "Pauls" (51% of the vote) we will continue to see this "Robin Hood" method of taxation, because they are the only ones that benefit from higher taxes with more government spending on social programs. We will no longer be fooled by this liberal socialistic Marxist form of taxation.
Many want to just "flatten" our existing income tax system, but we've been down that road before. Even President Reagan put forth a "flatter" tax with two rates, but that lasted less than five years. If we don't learn from our mistakes, we are destined to repeat them!
OUR Solution:
Americans for Fair Taxation is a 501 (c) (4) not-for-profit, non-partisan citizens organization, seeking to replace all federal income taxes with a single rate retail sales tax at the final point of sale of new goods and services for personal consumption above the poverty level. Established in 1995, AFFT is headquartered in Houston, Texas, and is developing fundraising and grassroots political operations in all major American metropolitan areas.
What will be taxed?
A 23 percent, single rate, single stage tax, the FairTax will be applied to the sale of all new consumer goods and services at the final point of consumption. Used [previously taxed] items will not be taxed again.
Business to business purchases for the production of goods and services will not be taxed.
Exactly what taxes will be abolished?
The FairTax is a replacement tax and it will replace the individual federal income tax including, capital gains taxes, all payroll taxes, corporate income taxes, self-employment taxes, death taxes and gift taxes.
How will the Family Consumption Allowance [FCA] work?
All valid households will receive [probably by direct deposit] a FCA equivalent to the FairTax paid on essential goods and services. The FCA will be paid in advance, in equal installments each month. The size of the monthly FCA will be determined by the government's Poverty Level for a particular family size, multiplied by the tax rate.
Every year, the Department of Health and Human Services [HHS] determine the "poverty level" for each family size.
The 2001 "FairTax" Family Consumption Allowance |
|||
Family Size |
HHS Poverty Level |
Annual FCA |
Monthly FCA |
One |
$8,590 |
$1,976 |
$165 |
Two |
$17,180 |
$3,951 |
$329 |
Three |
$20,200 |
$4,646 |
$387 |
Four |
$23,220 |
$5,341 |
$445 |
Five |
$26,240 |
$6,035 |
$503 |
Six |
$29,260 |
$6,730 |
$561 |
Seven |
$32,280 |
$7,424 |
$619 |
Eight |
$35,300 |
$8,119 |
$677 |
A family of four, for example, could spend $23,220 per year free of tax because they will have received over the course of the year rebates totaling $5,341. $5,341 is the amount of sales tax paid on $23,220 in expenditures. A family spending double the "poverty level" or $46,440 per year will effectively pay tax on only half of their spending and, therefore, have an effective tax rate of 11 � percent or half the FairTax rate.
The beauty of the FairTax is that you can control how much you pay in taxes. If you happen to save, invest or spend a portion on used [previously taxed] items, you can get your effective tax rate below 9%.
Cliff Cofer sez: View The FCA Chart for 2003! It's adjusted for inflation each year.