If the average citizen were asked what qualities they would like to see in a method of taxation most would agree that it should be simple, transparent and fair. Citizens in Gainesville Florida believe such and have taken action to detail the problems and solutions to local community.

The income tax is complex, requiring hours of time and for many, additional expenditures to hire professionals to comply with the tens of thousands of pages of law and regulation. When first imposed in 1913 it represented a modest tax on the income of those making over 300,000 a year adjusted to “to-days” dollar. Since it’s inception it has increased in how much it takes, and has grown to include every taxpayer. In 1942 the congress passed legislation to authorize withholding of taxes, ostensibly to help fund World War II. This obscured how much a person paid, and made increasing taxes easier. Over the years layer upon layer of regulation has bloated the tax code. Questions directed at “experts” elicit different answers from each. The people that the government is supposed to serve are seldom if ever made aware of new regulations enacted at the behest of lobbyist for special interests. It is only after the end of a calendar year that we sweep our bills, receipts, w-2’s, bank information, and tax forms into a sack and spend hours of preparation figuring out what new hoop to jump through, sometimes at considerable cost, that we find out how much our taxes will cost. Oh yes, better not be late, because there is always penalties and interest.

The income tax is not transparent. It is replete with hidden taxes and compliance costs. Businesses are required to pay taxes that are then hidden in the cost of the products and services they offer, placing an additional burden on the taxpayer, one he doesn’t know he is paying. They are also required to meet stringent and complex regulations and the cost of complying with these regulations is also passed on in the price of goods and services as a cost of doing business, and once again the unwitting public pays the price. The withholding of taxes is another opaque layer of regulation. Many people discount the amount withheld from their wage, and believe they have paid “no taxes” when in reality they have paid thousands of dollars.

The current tax on income places a disproportionate burden on the middle class. The wealthy have the ability to avoid income taxes by using offshore financial centers and other tax shelters. The indigent pay no taxes. Those whose income is the result of illegal activity such as drug dealers, illegal gamblers, racketeers, fences, prostitutes, white collar criminals, etc. declare no taxable income, and those engaged in cash businesses often do not declare all their income. There is no accurate estimate of how much money is escaping taxation by these means, however some estimate that a trillion dollars of taxable income is lost. Let me pause here to try to place a trillion dollars in perspective. If you want to accumulate a trillion dollars you would have to save a million dollars a year for two thousand eight hundred years. In order to have it today you would have had to have started saving 800 years before the birth of Christ! The sorry fact of the matter is that if you paid taxes this year, you probably paid your taxes and the taxes of another because 50% of the taxpayers in this country pay 97% of the revenues collected.

The income tax has grown like “Topsy” since 1913. Today it is a combination of law and regulation that has expanded to tens of thousands of pages. It is a broken system, and it is time to rip it out by the roots and replace it with something simple, transparent and fair to all.

The “Fair Tax” HR-25 and S-25 will do exactly that. This pending legislation is co-sponsored by 56 Congressmen and 4 Senators would and replace the Income Tax with a revenue neutral national sales tax that would be applied one time to new products and services at the retail level.

This legislation would mean that there would be no taxes on salaries, so you would go home with your whole paycheck. It would eliminate all taxes on income and investments including, capital gains tax, estate tax, tax on interest earned, IRAs and other retirement accounts, etc.

It would eliminate all taxes embedded in the products you buy therefore prices at retail will fall as taxes and compliance costs are eliminated as overhead items. It will make products cheaper for people in other countries improving our balance of trade. It will capture monies currently going untaxed, because those evading taxes by illegal occupations buy goods and require services. It would be transparent. When a person goes out and buys an item the amount of tax paid will be on the receipt. It will be far easier to understand just how much money the federal government takes.

It would be fair, protecting those below the poverty line by ensuring that there would be no taxes paid on the necessities required to live with dignity. There will be no need to hide income in offshore financial centers and other income tax shelters used by the very wealthy. Each person will decide how they wish to spend their money on new goods and services, and when they spend, they will be taxed on the expenditure, very much the way the State of Florida and six other states run their governments.

Once enacted this system of taxation will change the way we live. The vast majority of citizens will find themselves with greater opportunity to achieve their goals. Increased disposable income translates into enhanced opportunity to qualify for a mortgage, start a business, or decide to give up a job to stay at home with one’s children. The next generation of Americans will be less dependant on government assistance in their old age, and most of the “K street” lobbyist can look for another job, because there will be no income tax code for them to manipulate at the expense of the average taxpayer to create an advantage for a special interest.

The Fair Tax (HR-25 and S-25) is an idea whose time has come. It fulfills the need for simplicity, cost effective collection, transparency, and equality. It will stimulate investment, and saving. Social Security, and Medicare, currently in danger of collapse, will be funded far into the future. I invite you to join me and the hundreds of thousands of other Americans who want the IRS out of the USA.