Alternative to income tax

Dear Editor:This year is the hundredth anniversary of the income tax (the 16th Amendment). In 1913 only a very small percentage of wage earners were subject to the tax. Over time, practically all of us have come under expanded provisions, including withholding and payroll taxes. What started so innocuously in 1913 has become a dead weight on our economy. JFK said, "the largest single barrier to full employment of our manpower...and to a higher rate of economic growth, is federal income taxes." In an era of sluggish economic activity and depressed federal revenues, Congress is turning a critical eye to the income tax. Right now we have several "fixes" vying for the spotlight, including tweaking the current system, various flat tax plans, VATs, and the FairTax. The FairTax is the only plan that replaces the income tax. It would have brought in more federal revenue in 2010 and 2011 than the income tax did because of the slump in employment. Quoting JFK once again, "Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer." A local Congress member, Linda Sanchez, has a critical role to play in these discussions, sitting as she does on the House Ways and Means Committee, where all tax reform must start. Ask her to support the FairTax and report it out of committee for Congressional debate. David Boone Houston, Minn.

********** Published: February 14, 2013 - Volume 11 - Issue 44