On February 20, I sent the following letter to every member in Congress. Of the 535 letters, there were only three answers, a couple of which were actually on topic. Granted, only three of the recipients were under any kind of an obligation to me as a constituent. Those three are Tim Walz, Minnesota District 1 and my two senators, Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken. Since none answered, I am converting this message to an open letter:
Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? A plan exists whereby we can turn this country around by passing one simple act. It’s called the FairTax® and it’s been designed to not merely tweak the current income tax, but to replace it wholesale while remaining revenue neutral.
On December 15, 2004, Democratic leadership in Congress sent an open letter to President Bush. The letter cites three bullet points of concern, fairness, simplicity and fiscal responsibility. While fiscal responsibility would entail dealing with issues on the spending side of the ledger, it should encourage lawmakers to know that in the tax years (2009, 2010) for which our economists have run the numbers, revenues would have increased by hundreds of billions under the FairTax compared to revenues from the Income Tax.
Fairness and simplicity is just the beginning of the FairTax’s edge in the tax reform sweepstakes. A more comprehensive list would include:
. No more federal withholding – take home your entire paycheck less state taxes only.
. No more annual tax filings– major reduction in compliance cost, especially for business. . Economic growth – more and better paying jobs.
. Restoration of privacy–no more “your papers, please.”
. Stabilizes and fully funds Social Security and Medicare for the foreseeable future.
. Removes taxes for everyone on life’s necessities by means of a monthly refund.
. Brings back overseas investment and profit.
. Taxes underground and criminal income, and for the first time, wealth, when spent.
. Eliminates the “crony capitalism” surrounding the Income Tax codes.
. Removes embedded taxes from exports making them more competitive overseas.
To me passage of the FairTax is the test of whether Americans can work together in the spirit of bipartisanship that everyone says they want. If we can pass the FairTax, maybe, just maybe, we have a basis for progress.
David Boone
Houston, Minnesota
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