Pass the FairTax

This month marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 16th Amendment and the imposition of income tax. Since that time our income tax code has ballooned from 400 pages to over 75,000 and the IRS has become the most feared of government institutions with an annual budget of over $12 billion. Americans spend over $400 billion trying to comply with the code, knowing that when they send their return in, it’s wrong, and if audited by the IRS, they are guilty until proven innocent.

It’s time to make a fundamental change, not continue to tweak the code as we’ve done the past 100 years. There is a bill before Congress (HR25/S122) that would eliminate all income tax — both personal and corporate (including the payroll tax) — and replace them with a national retail sales tax including a provision that ensures no American citizen pays tax on the basic necessities. It’s called the FairTax. It eliminates the IRS, stops corruption and would create 16 million new jobs in America the first year of passage as businesses would flock here to produce products tax free.

Let’s stop discouraging people from working. Let’s pass the FairTax.

JIM DONNELL
Cameron Park