Search FAIRtax.org

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT – MARCH 31ST, 2017

IT IS TIME TO TURN UP THE HEAT!

Senator Russell Long represented Louisiana in the U.S. Senate from 1948 to 1987.  He was the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee for 15 years.  As mentioned in a previous Report, I met the Senator in 1994 at his law office in Washington, D.C. to discuss replacing the income tax with a retail sales tax.

He asked a number of questions but said to me that logic doesn’t work in D.C.  He said that we have to “turn up the heat” because that is the only thing that will get Members to make such a dramatic change to the tax system.

How Do We Turn Up the Heat?

Here is what we know:

  • The “tax reform” proposed by Speaker Ryan and Chairman Brady keeps the income/payroll tax system and requires the IRS to enforce it.
  • The Cebula evasion study estimates, using U.S. government numbers, that evasion will be $9 trillion in the decade from 2017 to 2026. 
  • Evaders are not only evading the federal income tax but also the payroll/Medicare tax and any state income tax.  Even if the income tax rate is reduced to 20%, if the evaders were to choose to report all of their income, they would also have to  pay 15.3% of the evaded amount in payroll/Medicare tax and an average of 5% state income tax, a total tax rate  of 40.3%.
  • Why would a person now paying zero taxes on his or her evaded income include the evaded income in his/her earnings and pay 40.3%?  They have already decided that it is okay to break the law.
  • Most tax evaders are careful and even if their tax returns were to be included in the .7% of tax returns that are audited this year, there is a high likelihood that their evasion will go  undetected because 72.6% of the audits the IRS conducted in Fiscal Year 2015 were merely correspondence audits and not field audits.  The remaining 27.4% of the IRS audits were done in person.
  • Correspondence audits are audits done by mail where the IRS asks for proof of deductions or other matters related to the tax return.  The field audits are conducted in person by the IRS.  Field audits are generally more comprehensive but often even they do not reveal that the person is under-reporting income or over-claiming deductions and evading tax.

How Do We Turn Up The Heat?
Call up the local or D.C. office of the House Member and two Senators and you can use the following script:

  • I am sure that Representative ____ or Senator ____ is in favor of everyone obeying the income tax laws.
  • After they assure you that their boss is not in favor of anyone breaking the law, ask if they are aware of the Cebula study showing $9 trillion of evaded income/payroll taxes over the next ten years.
  • Since most will say they don’t believe their boss has seen the study, either drop off a copy or get an email address and send a copy to them for their boss.
  • Say you are going to call back in a week and ask what the Representative or Senator is going to do to stop this evasion.
  • In a week, call back and ask specifically what the Representative or Senator is going to do to enforce the law.
  • They probably will say their boss believes that simplifying the income tax will handle the problem.
  • Explain that when people evade income taxes, they are also evading the 15.3% payroll/Medicare tax and state income tax.  So it is unlikely that they are going to pay 30% or 40% when they were paying 0% because they have already decided it is okay to cheat.
  • Say that the only way to reduce evasion is to increase by tens or hundreds of thousands the number of comprehensive IRS audits done each year.
  • Point out that Evaders do not self-identify by putting an “E” on their income tax return.
  • 80% of the people likely to be audited are trying to comply, but they will be forced to endure these IRS audits as well.
  • Ask if the Member is in favor of this?
  • If they say no, then ask again how the Member proposes to stop people breaking the income tax laws.
  • Then explain that the way to handle evasion without unleashing the IRS audits is the FAIRtax.  
If you can see your Member or attend a town hall and ask these questions, you can be even more effective.

CONCLUSION
 
Many of the Representatives and Senators with whom I have met are decent and sincere men and women.  However, they are stuck in the swamp with everyone else and it is time to let all of the D.C. Elites and our elected Representatives know that if they don’t want to get drained with the rest of the swamp, they will need to change to a fairer and better tax system—THE FAIRTAX!

HELP BRING ABOUT REAL TAX REFORM AND STOP FUTURE IRS ABUSES

Abraham Lincoln also said, “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” 

We may only have a limited time to stop the fake tax reform being promoted by some in Congress.  If it passes, then the Elites will say that we need to wait before we consider any more changes.  To stop this fake reform, we must be able to ensure that our message is clearly heard not only by Congress but also by President-elect Trump.  To do this we need your help.

By contributing (investing) $10.40 per month, you help provide a financial base to AFFT.  If you can make larger contributions (investments), these will be used not for salaries, as we are all volunteers, but for the needed updates to our economic studies which will be vital in 2017.
 
Please go to this link to invest in AFFT and in your and your family’s future.

FAIRtax E-Book 
AMERICA’S BIG SOLUTION - An E-book For Beginners

Some people would like to learn about the FAIRtax outside of social media.  Yes, there is life beyond Facebook and Twitter!  If someone needs a basic introduction to the FAIRtax, this e-book is what they need. We all need to become engaged in order to force Congress and President Trump to adopt the FAIRtax as the new tax plan.   We all need to come up to speed on the FAIRtax.  This e-book is the first step. 

AMERICA'S BIG SOLUTION is available for only $2.99 for the Amazon Kindle, the Barnes & Noble Nook and Apple iOS.  

AMERICA'S BIG SOLUTION by Florida Volunteer Terry Tibbetts has been written to give people of all ages a basic introduction to the FAIRtax and encourage them to learn more about the most thoroughly researched tax plan ever presented to Congress.  It is a light hearted approach to a very serious subject. 

Everyone needs to know that we have an alternative to federal income tax and the criminal enterprise known as the IRS.  Everyone needs hope and AMERICA'S BIG SOLUTION provides that hope. AMERICA'S BIG SOLUTION is an alternative the social media platforms competing for our attention. 

You can even purchase a print copy at the same Amazon link above for $9.25.  Regardless of whether you choose the electronic format or the print format, you'll find AMERICA'S BIG SOLUTION will give someone the boost they need to begin their study of the FAIRtax and the suggested resources to learn more. Buy AMERICA'S BIG SOLUTION now!

FAIRtax Power Radio
Weekly Podcasts and Monthly Facebook LIVE

The FAIRtax Guys have been posting a weekly FAIRtax Power Radio podcast on Spreaker, iTunes and iHeart Radio for almost a year now.  And every episode is different.  Since the FAIRtax affects every aspect of life in the United States, we find something new to talk about every week.  Even if you are very familiar with the FAIRtax, you’ll find something new in each episode and it’s completely free.  Since it’s a podcast, you can listen whenever you have time on your computer or your smart phone.
 
Through the “Hope and Change” of the last eight years and the promises to “Make America Great Again,” what is Congress and the new administration offering us as tax reform? At this point, both President Trump and the Speaker Ryan are offering a modification of the current failed system. As Kerry Bowers, one of The FAIRtax Guys interviewees, said about Speaker Ryan’s “A Better Way” plan, “It transforms the tax plan from a personal income tax, a corporate income tax and a payroll tax enforced and administered by the IRS to a system that includes a personal income tax, a corporate income tax and a payroll tax enforced and administered by the IRS.”  Is this REAL reform?  No!
 
As The FAIRtax Guys discuss, this plan does not represent “Hope and Change” and is not the way to “Make America Great Again.” We need true tax reform; we need the FAIRtax. And we provide the listener new and novel ways to discuss the FAIRtax with your friends and neighbors every week. 
 
You can listen to our FREE podcasts on Spreaker.com, iTunes or iHeart Radio. You can listen on line or download the podcasts to your computer or smartphone. 
 
For your iPhone or Android, we have a free app. Just search for FAIRtax Power Radio in your app store, download the app and start listening.  We post a new episode every Friday morning.  Please listen in and tell everyone you know about the FAIRtax Power Radio podcasts. 
​
Links for Further Information

Please, if you'd like to keep studying and promoting the FAIRtax, make yourself familiar with the links below. We always do our best to keep our AFFT community up to date, and you can stay ahead of the curve using these convenient sites.

AFFT National LOGO Store

THE FAIRTAX® LOGO STORE
 
SUPPLYING EDUCATIONAL/PROMOTIONAL ITEMS

Click here to visit the FAIRtax℠ Store.



Thank You For Opening The FAIRtax Chronicles, Our Sponsored Mailings
                          
We plan to do several of these mailings each month. If you take a minute to open the sponsored emails and click through to the website, you are making an in kind contribution to AFFT. It is not required to actually make a purchase, but your minute of time will ensure that AFFT is paid ever larger amounts from people paying for us to send their offers to our supporters.
 
Again, we are making every effort to ensure that we work with only reputable companies. If you feel that any FAIRtax-sponsored email is objectionable, please email us at info@fairtax.org and tell us why. You can also opt to not receive these sponsored email messages but still receive FAIRtax emails.

Thank you for staying FAIRtax strong!