A Challenge for FairTax.org

Honorable Mark Udall,

This letter is written in reference to HR 25 now before Congress; The Fair Tax bill.
A challenge is given to the Honorable Mark Udall, the Honorable Ken Salazar, the Honorable Bob Beauprez and the Honorable Wayne Allard; by a Colorado citizen.

Facts from you, our Government:

It costs Americans 10 billion dollars a year to monitor compliance of our tax code.

Yet we lose over 261 Billion dollars a year in tax revenues due to non-compliance.

That is not including the billions lost each year to the under-ground economy. Estimated loss is at 300 billion dollars. Illegal Alien labor tax losses amount to billions in lost revenue. Do you truly wish to rectify the situation? Show me. Don’t talk to me, show me.

This challenge is not without help already offered by leading Economists from 8 major Universities such as Stanford, Rice, Boston University and MIT.

Polling data of the American people was gathered by a research organization. A question was asked by a research group made up by a diverse group of Americans from all walks of life. The question was this, “We know you don’t like being taxed, but if you had to have a tax system what would it look like?”.

The answers were taken to some of the best economists at leading Universities. From their evaluation a common theme came from the American people. Their answer to all of these concerns voiced by the Americans polled was a consumption tax.

There is a deep resentment toward the IRS. This adds tremendously to the costs of non-compliance. This all stands to reason, right? If we truly resent something deeply enough we ignore. We don’t comply.

The very first step is to cut the 10 billion dollars and 98,000 bureaucratic jobs now used to monitor a 2.1 million word tax code through the IRS. Close its doors. Stop using a branch of government to insidiously intrude into the lives of Americans, working or not. Our Government should respect and protect the privacy of its citizens.

In one step we could reduce the number of ‘points of compliance’ from hundreds of millions to hundreds of thousands. From every individual to the number of retailers.

Hold on to your hat, because here comes a really ‘wild’ idea.

Our government taxes our consumption not our productivity.

Give us all of our paychecks.

Give the poor a “pre-bate” equal to the difference between their income and the poverty level along with their entire paycheck. Their effective tax rate is 0%. You can finally say that there is a bill before Congress that addresses their needs more directly than the deductions they must suffer through at minimum wage. Let the progression in our tax code (0% for the poor and 23% for those of us that have the money and the inclination to go out and buy the newest, most expensive toy) reflect how we spend, not how much we produce.

Let’s stop this childish rhetoric about making sure the rich pays their fair share.

Let the rich spend freely. As they spend, your revenue goes up. You get to pay for all of our Great Societies, our experimental bilingual education, or what ever the latest feel good legislation that we are for at the time. We will know exactly how much you spend, because that is reflected in the percentage we have to pay. This would remove from our lives the smoke and mirrors of ‘hidden’ costs that are in everything we pay for.

Here’s another contradiction. We say we promote saving, then punish saving by levying a tax on it. Taxing savings is a disincentive to save.

Employee Withholding and Corporate Employment Taxes:

The cost of compliance with corporate taxes and employee withholding taxes is built into every product. These taxes place a drag on the engine of our economy. An analogy would be, we are constantly applying the brakes of a car and telling everyone we’re doing our level best to win the race. How many would believe us?

This one regressive tax has seen the greatest increase of all other taxes over the past 50 years.

This drives down wages and limits employment. If you want businesses to thrive, then release the brake of all corporate taxes. Even if there is no increased consumption brought on by lower prices, your programs will be paid for because the economists have based their entire math on our Government’s current spending levels. All we need to do is release that brake.

We pride ourselves in saying our economy is based on small business and these should be nurtured, then we levy a self employment tax. How is levying a tax against someone because they practice self reliance, encouraging self reliance?

Whoever talked us into this piece of logic was good with words. Let's see, is this the double speak predicted by the book "1984'? It reminds me of a Carney shell game. Now you see it, now you don’t.

Every politician I’ve heard says they want to take care of our elderly, those that gave us this great life. Then we levy a tax on Social Security and retirement accounts which is earnings already taxed multiple times before.

You as a Representative say that all Americans should comply with the law, and then you offer us a 60,000 page tax code. Is this a rational way to levy taxes and expect full compliance? It’s too easy to make a mistake by an honest person and it’s too easy to cheat by those of us that are dishonest.

No wonder 18 million Americans failed to file last year and 25% more that did file didn’t pay any taxes. Doesn't this place an unfair burden on those that do comply and have to pay? What is the cost of this to each American? $2000 a person that does pay.

The general impression is that ‘the rich’ use ‘loopholes’ to get out of paying taxes anyway, what use is it to supposedly take a higher percentage from the rich?

With the HR 25 when the rich spend, as the rich will do, they are taxed at the maximum 23%. No longer will they have the loopholes, yet they too will be free from the regressive tax system now in place. But they are free from Capital Gains taxes, because under HR 25, the levy on Capital Gains is repealed. This gives freedom to the rich to reinvest and grow and hire.

You also have the opportunity to level the playing field in our world market.

Do not tax our exports and what we produce domestically instead tax foreign consumption at the same rate as we pay, 23%. This will invigorate and bring back manufacturing jobs to America. The only way we could win World War II was our ability to manufacture goods domestically. What has happened to that ability? Does it not affect our National Security more than most things we now concentrate on? A new world order is all good and fine, and globalization is great, but not at the expense of our soveriegnty. Not at least until all that would be our enemies are vanquished. Then we can talk and trust. Until then, let HR 25 level the playing field for Global American Corporations and bring jobs back here. You know, the good ones............

Foreign investments would increase because of the tax advantages.

How many billions, if not trillions of dollars, would be recovered from off-shore accounts now being used as an end run around our current regressive tax code?

Often the most progressive ideas are the simplest. I know that this is the case with HR 25.

Do not allow the nay-Sayers to deter your resolve. Represent the majority too. It has been shown time and time again, when offered this alternative, the vast majority of Americans agree with this type of taxation.

We need to throw the levy on our prosperity out. It can’t be ‘fixed’.

This is unfair taxation in spite of representation.

All it takes is your one vote.

If you are not for this measure please respond as to the reasons and maybe I can help you understand this important bill better. If you sit on the fence, please explain why, maybe I can help.

I look forward to your personal reply.



Kindest Regards,
An Old Democrat