The Wisdom of Groucho Marx and Tax Reform
Groucho Marx was born in 1890 and lived until 1977. A gifted comedian, Groucho made very astute observations about life and about the way our government operates. Although this statement was made many years ago, it applies to the present approach the D.C. elite takes to tax reform.
Groucho said, “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.”
The D.C. establishment, on both sides of the political spectrum, agree that the present Internal Revenue Code has problems but most don’t want to really reform the present income tax system because:
• Many of them benefit from its confusions, inequities and complexities;
• It is easy to manipulate to accomplish their own agendas;
• It disguises the true costs of the federal government;
• It allows them to reward conduct they consider important and punish conduct they consider bad;
• It allows them to raise money to protect or obtain particular tax benefits.
Their solution to the problems created by the present system is a clear example of their “diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.”
The Flat Income Tax—The Solution of the D.C. Elites
The D.C. Elites think that all they have to do is tell people that they are going to simplify the income tax and all will be ok. They believe the problem is that the present system appears to complex. So, they propose to make it look simpler but in reality they have addressed none of the basic problems.
Their solution still requires the IRS to collect the forms and enforce the payment. It still requires businesses and independent contractors to determine their net income subject to tax and this is not simplified by the current proposals.
Diagnosing It Correctly and Applying the Right Remedy
Any tax on income will require:
• Filing of annual individual and business returns
• Withholding at the source
• The IRS
• Audits of individuals and businesses
• Determination of income by businesses
• No border adjustability so the incentive to create jobs overseas is not changed and our exports will continue to be penalized
The true solution is the FAIRtax. All of the problems outlined above are corrected. The only audits will be of retail providers of goods and services and these will be much simpler sales tax audits. Since the FAIRtax will be collected by the states, there will be no need for an IRS—just a department of the Treasury that collects the amounts from the states.
Waterloo Trip
This Saturday I will be at an event in Waterloo, Iowa. FAIRtax will have a table and I am expecting to meet with Senator Cruz and Governor Huckabee. Will provide a report next week.
October Washington Trip
Next week Peggy leaves for D.C. Please contact your Members of Congress and ask them to meet with Peggy. Indicate that you would like to join the meeting via the telephone. As you get responses, please send them to Peggy at Peggy.Green-Ernst@FairTax.org.
1040 Club
Thanks to each of you who have joined the 1040 Club. You are ensuring that Americans For Fair Taxation can continue to promote the FAIRtax.
If you are not a member of the 1040 Club, or if you are a member but want to join for someone else, please go to this link and sign up.
FAIRtax Power Radio
Whether you’re a FAIRtax volunteer or an informed citizen who wishes to be better informed, we encourage you to listen to FAIRtax Power Radio, the online radio show that is available when you are. Bob and Ron just finished a series of three episodes in which they discuss criticisms of the FAIRtax that we have all heard over the years. This series is episodes 20, 21 & 22 and can be heard on SoundCloud (which is FREE) at these links:
FTPR 20 http://bit.ly/1h2R4pO
FTPR 21 http://bit.ly/1NX8Qrs
FTPR 22 http://bit.ly/1M4NwlE
AFFT National LOGO Store and Scrolling Signs
Going into the primary system, it is even more important that all of us have FAIRtax signs that we can bring to political rallies. Many venues will not allow us to bring signs attached to metal or wood holders. That is why Rudy Treml designed and had printed the scrolling FAIRtax signs. Visit our National Store at www.fairtaxlogostore.org and purchase some Personal FAIRtax℠ Scrolling Handheld Event signs.
It is a handheld scrolling event sign printed in color on both sides with our new logo. When folded up, this banner is only 2” x 9” but opens up to a 27” x 9” presentation
which self-retracts. It is ideal for all political events and easily fits in a pocket, jacket or purse when not in use. To see a picture of this banner please click here.
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!
Groucho Marx was born in 1890 and lived until 1977. A gifted comedian, Groucho made very astute observations about life and about the way our government operates. Although this statement was made many years ago, it applies to the present approach the D.C. elite takes to tax reform.
Groucho said, “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.”
The D.C. establishment, on both sides of the political spectrum, agree that the present Internal Revenue Code has problems but most don’t want to really reform the present income tax system because:
• Many of them benefit from its confusions, inequities and complexities;
• It is easy to manipulate to accomplish their own agendas;
• It disguises the true costs of the federal government;
• It allows them to reward conduct they consider important and punish conduct they consider bad;
• It allows them to raise money to protect or obtain particular tax benefits.
Their solution to the problems created by the present system is a clear example of their “diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.”
The Flat Income Tax—The Solution of the D.C. Elites
The D.C. Elites think that all they have to do is tell people that they are going to simplify the income tax and all will be ok. They believe the problem is that the present system appears to complex. So, they propose to make it look simpler but in reality they have addressed none of the basic problems.
Their solution still requires the IRS to collect the forms and enforce the payment. It still requires businesses and independent contractors to determine their net income subject to tax and this is not simplified by the current proposals.
Diagnosing It Correctly and Applying the Right Remedy
Any tax on income will require:
• Filing of annual individual and business returns
• Withholding at the source
• The IRS
• Audits of individuals and businesses
• Determination of income by businesses
• No border adjustability so the incentive to create jobs overseas is not changed and our exports will continue to be penalized
The true solution is the FAIRtax. All of the problems outlined above are corrected. The only audits will be of retail providers of goods and services and these will be much simpler sales tax audits. Since the FAIRtax will be collected by the states, there will be no need for an IRS—just a department of the Treasury that collects the amounts from the states.
Waterloo Trip
This Saturday I will be at an event in Waterloo, Iowa. FAIRtax will have a table and I am expecting to meet with Senator Cruz and Governor Huckabee. Will provide a report next week.
October Washington Trip
Next week Peggy leaves for D.C. Please contact your Members of Congress and ask them to meet with Peggy. Indicate that you would like to join the meeting via the telephone. As you get responses, please send them to Peggy at Peggy.Green-Ernst@FairTax.org.
1040 Club
Thanks to each of you who have joined the 1040 Club. You are ensuring that Americans For Fair Taxation can continue to promote the FAIRtax.
If you are not a member of the 1040 Club, or if you are a member but want to join for someone else, please go to this link and sign up.
FAIRtax Power Radio
Whether you’re a FAIRtax volunteer or an informed citizen who wishes to be better informed, we encourage you to listen to FAIRtax Power Radio, the online radio show that is available when you are. Bob and Ron just finished a series of three episodes in which they discuss criticisms of the FAIRtax that we have all heard over the years. This series is episodes 20, 21 & 22 and can be heard on SoundCloud (which is FREE) at these links:
FTPR 20 http://bit.ly/1h2R4pO
FTPR 21 http://bit.ly/1NX8Qrs
FTPR 22 http://bit.ly/1M4NwlE
AFFT National LOGO Store and Scrolling Signs
Going into the primary system, it is even more important that all of us have FAIRtax signs that we can bring to political rallies. Many venues will not allow us to bring signs attached to metal or wood holders. That is why Rudy Treml designed and had printed the scrolling FAIRtax signs. Visit our National Store at www.fairtaxlogostore.org and purchase some Personal FAIRtax℠ Scrolling Handheld Event signs.
It is a handheld scrolling event sign printed in color on both sides with our new logo. When folded up, this banner is only 2” x 9” but opens up to a 27” x 9” presentation
which self-retracts. It is ideal for all political events and easily fits in a pocket, jacket or purse when not in use. To see a picture of this banner please click here.
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!