Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
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THE FAIRTAX BOOK By Neal Boortz and John Linder
Some of you will probably think I’m crazy to spend time reading an entire book on reforming the tax system, but a kind listener sent me this bestseller and inscribed it, “Amanda Dickson. Please read this book. So I did.
I am actually intrigued with the idea of the FairTax. The FairTax would eliminate the income tax – no more withholding. It would eliminate the IRS. It would basically replace the revenue streams of income tax with a modified consumption tax. It would provide all Americans with a prebate to cover the amount of tax on necessities like food, and then there would be a 23% tax on all purchased goods and services. This means there would be a 23% tax on doctor visits and cars and everything else, but all Americans would pay the same tax. In fact, every entity would pay the tax, including government.
The authors explain where income tax withholding came from and they argue, with a good amount of humor, that something is wrong when we celebrate our tax refund. After all – this is not a gift from the government. This is the government giving back to us money it should never have had from us in the first place.
I don’t claim to be an economist and I’m sure there are many questions to be answered, but for all of us who spend dozens of hours and hundreds of dollars just trying to comply with the tax code– wouldn’t you like the simplicity of a consumption tax? Can you imagine it? If you have the money to buy it, you buy it. If you don’t, you don’t. But think of how much more money you’d have to spend if you actually received all of your paycheck. Do you even know what your employer pays you – or do you only know what you take home?
It’s worth your time to read– and maybe even ask your congressman about. The Fair Tax Book, by Neal Boortz and John Linder. On the Book Beat for KSL Newsradio, I’m Amanda Dickson.
