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Chairman's Report - July 20, 2018

 

MEETING CONGRESSMAN WOODALL AT HIS DISTRICT OFFICE

 

According to a recent Gallup Poll, only 19% of the public approve of the way that Congress is doing its job.  Contrast this with the graphs published by Opensecrets.org which show that in the past, it is rare if the re-election rate of Senate and House incumbents has dropped below 80% and is most often over 90%.

It seems that the Members in our district are ok, it is just the other Members that are bad.  We may disagree with the votes of our Members, but Americans keep re-electing incumbents.  It is like the story of the man who had just been convicted of stealing a ham.  Prior to sentencing the judge asked if anyone wanted to speak.  The man’s wife stood and said that she was asking the judge to put her husband on probation.

The judge looked startled and pointed out that the police report said that the man was always drunk, never worked and often was abusive.  The man’s wife said that it was all true.  The judge asked then why was she seeking probation?  The wife replied, “We need another ham.”

Is Rob Woodall a politician.  Yes, he is.  Rob Woodall is also a genuinely nice person.  He was Congressman John Linder’s chief of staff and provided assistance to the Congressman and Neal Boortz when they wrote the FairTax Book that was published in 2005.

When Congressman Linder retired, Rob was elected in 2010 to replace him and has continued to be the chief sponsor for H.R.25, the FAIRtax Act.   

As he is part of a group that seems to reward the number of times you are re-elected and not necessarily your ability, Rob is forced to work within the structure of the House.  He is not on the Ways And Means Committee, the tax writing committee, but consistently promotes the advantages of the FAIRtax to Chairman Kevin Brady and Speaker Ryan.

On July 3, 2018, Georgians For Fair Taxation President Bill Fogarty and Jim Duffie, board member of the Georgia organization and AFFT board of delegate, and I met at Rob’s Lawrenceville, Georgia office.  Rob allocated an hour of his very busy schedule and we had an opportunity to explore a number of issues.

In many ways, the meeting was both bittersweet and frustrating.  All of us agreed that the recently passed tax plan was nothing like the true reform of the FAIRtax.  We discussed:
 

  • The IRS continues to be in place.
  • The only way to make even a dent in evasion of the income/payroll tax is to increase the power and reach of the IRS.
  • The increased power to the IRS will be abused and many Americans who are trying to comply will be incorrectly targeted.
  • While the corporate tax rate reduction is great, it would be better if it were 0% and not 21%.
  • Our exports carry the taxes built into their price and are taxed when they arrive at our trading partner but imports, who receive a rebate of these taxes prior to export, are not in turn taxed when they arrive in the U.S.


However, we also discussed some things that, while incremental, are significant steps toward making the FAIRtax acceptable to our citizens.  These were:
 

  • By increasing the standard deduction to $24,000, the number of people itemizing deductions is expected to decrease from 30% to under 10%.
  • Effectively, this means that far fewer taxpayers will believe that they are getting a “benefit” from the Internal Revenue Code and will no longer have that reason to want to keep the present income/payroll tax system.
  • Small businesses will get to eliminate 20% of their income from taxation and will see what it would mean if this number would be 100%.


CONCLUSION

Instead of wearing the pin showing he is a Member of Congress, Rob wears a FAIRtax pin.  He says many of his colleagues call him the FAIRtax man.  Many of the Members that I have met tell me that Rob is always finding a way to promote the FAIRtax.  

The problem, of course, is that Rob is up against the Swamp and their friends whose agenda is not to do the best thing for the American people but only for them and their friends.  We also have to remember that since January 1, 2017 there have been over 6,300 bills introduced in the House alone.  Many of them are tens or even hundreds of pages long and few Members can read and understand even a small percentage of the bills.

Rob is helping keep the FAIRtax issue alive in the House.  It is up to us to continue to speak to the Members in our districts and encourage/push them to either become or continue to be a co-sponsor.  We can be frustrated that they don’t mention the FAIRtax enough but their very presence on the legislation gives it credibility the Swamp cannot ignore.

We also need to remember that, while not what we wanted, the recent tax changes at least made most taxpayers less reliant on “tax breaks.”  This is what people have to accept before they will more easily see that the FAIRtax will not harm them.

Sometimes when I am critical of someone, I recall the story of the man who spent ten minutes telling his wife about all of her faults.  At the end of the husband’s list of faults, the wife looked up calmly and said, “I know all about my faults.  They are why I couldn’t get a better husband.”

It is time to PASS THE FAIRTAX!  

The truth is the truth.  Remember, if we don't continue to tell the truth and demand a change, then this quote from George Orwell's 1984 may foretell our children's future:

“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever.”

WHAT CAN EACH OF US DO

Call up the local or D.C. offices of your 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. 
 

#117 DOES THE FAIRTAX HAVE FLAWS?

Continuing with last week’s theme of learning from criticism, The FAIRtax Guys tackle a propaganda campaign that was launched against the FAIRtax some years ago.  But instead of just dismissing the claims as half-truths and false assumptions, The FAIRtax Guys dissect each claim and use it to help people learn more about the FAIRtax.  For instance, is the FAIRtax 23% (inclusive) or 30% (exclusive)?  Is there a difference?  If your lawn guys fails to submit the FAIRtax he collected, who is in trouble? - you or the lawn guy?  And there are many more examples.  

What we learn with the last two episodes is that, although it is possible to lie about the FAIRtax, it is very difficult to honestly criticize the FAIRtax.  Why?  The strength of the FAIRtax lies in its simplicity.  It’s so simple, it’s hard to screw it up - even for Congress. 

Although this was a prerecorded show, it was still presented on Facebook as a LIVE event with The FAIRtax Guys and others (Randy Fischer) standing by to answer your questions.  We always try to engage the audience. 

If you’re not a fan of Facebook, you can watch FAIRtax Power Radio on xcluded.tv at the same broadcast time - or any time.  

Be sure to let everyone you know about the New and Improved FAIRtax Power Radio.  Watch and Listen every Wednesday at 11:30 AM (ET).  We are streaming to Facebook LIVE (www.facebook.com/fairtax) followed by podcasts posted on Spreaker (http://bit.ly/2oesbk7), iTunes & iHeart Radio.

PAST EPISODES - Wondering what we talked about in past episodes?  Each episode is saved as both video on Facebook or Xcluded.tv and podcasts on Spreaker, iTunes and iHeart Radio.  Watch or listen later - or any time!

The Facebook videos are saved to a number of pages: FAIRtax Official (https://www.facebook.com/FairTax/), The FAIRtax Guys (https://www.facebook.com/thefairtaxguys/), Democrats for FAIRtax (https://www.facebook.com/DemocratsForFairTax/) and many others. 

Xcluded.tv is a subscription based site which costs $30 per year and features a number of other shows along with FTPR with no commercial interruption. 

Be a part of this cutting edge news/talk show featuring The FAIRtax Guys.  Read further for links to the podcasts. 

VOLUNTEER TO HELP THE VOLUNTEERS  

It is the American people who will demand REAL tax reform in Congress.  Your FAIRtax volunteers are trying their best to inform America about the FAIRtax!  Please help us.

Tune into our video broadcast each Wednesday.  If you can’t watch live, then listen to the podcast of the show later.  You can listen to FTPR on any platform - Mac or PC, iPhone or Android. And it’s 100% free.  Listen on Spreaker.com (http://bit.ly/2oesbk7), iTunes (http://apple.co/1Te8VdF) or iHeart Radio (http://bit.ly/2eqEG7y) on your computer or smartphone.  The easiest way to listen to FTPR on your smartphone is by downloading the free FTPR app.  Just search for “FAIRtax Power Radio” in your app store, download the app and start listening.  

A new podcast follows the live show every Wednesday.  Please listen and tell everyone you know about the FAIRtax Power Radio.  The FAIRtax: Once You Understand It, You’ll Demand It!


THE FAIRTAX BOOK FOR NEWBIES - AMERICA’S BIG SOLUTION

America’s Big Solution is a basic introduction to the FAIRtax and is meant for people of any age.  And you can download it to your tablet or smartphone right now.  Also available in print form.  See below.

Do you know someone who would like an introduction to the FAIRtax and would prefer to read about it rather than search online for Tweets, Posts and Shares?  If so, America’s Big Solution is their best choice.

America’s Big Solution is an introduction to the FAIRtax written by Terry Tibbetts, author of A Spartan Game: The Life and Loss of Don Holleder, with help from Ron Maiellaro, President of the Florida FAIRtax Educational Association.  

You can buy an electronic version of ABS as follows:  AMERICA’S BIG SOLUTION is available for only $2.99 for the Amazon Kindle (http://amzn.to/1WIRHry), the Barnes & Noble Nook (http://bit.ly/1XeG8bH) and Apple iOS (http://apple.co/1tnqK0P).  

You can 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!

LINKS TO MORE INFORMATION

These links will help you promote and support 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.


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