Chairman’s Report - February 23, 2018

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  • Source: FAIRtax
  • 04/09/2021

THE IRS--SERVANTS OF THE SWAMP—TIME FOR THEM TO GO FIND ANOTHER JOB

 

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall made many decisions which were objected to by the sitting Presidents and Congress.  One of these was relating to a Georgia law that affected the Cherokees.  Marshall’s 1832 opinion, supported by a majority of the court, invalidated the law and ordered a person imprisoned under the law to be released.  

 

President Andrew Jackson, a man with strong views on how to treat the Cherokees, is supposed to have said, "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!"

 

Our friends at the IRS have decided that even though a new tax plan has been passed, they are the sole arbiters of how the laws should be applied.  They apparently regard President Trump’s order to all federal agencies to eliminate unneeded regulations as applying to others but not them.

 

Agencies of the federal government are required to submit any new major rules or regulations to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA).  This is to verify that these proposed rules and regulations have been analyzed for consistency with the law and for their costs and benefits.

 

Kimberly Strassel, a writer for the Wall Street Journal, exposed this attitude in an article on February 15, 2018.  Ms. Strassel points out:

 

  • in 1983, the Treasury Department signed a memorandum that largely exempted the IRS from submitting its rules to OIRA.
  • IRS bureaucrats, free of any cost/benefit concerns that affect the rest of us, have made determinations consistent, in many cases, with their opinions and not the law.
  • They made the decisions on how to enforce Obamacare.
  • The IRS bureaucrats decided that more business owners should be required to pay the estate tax than Congress intended and ensured that their regulations enforced their opinion.
  • Despite President Trump’s directives and pressure from Congress, Secretary Mnuchin’s Treasury department is stalling on rescinding the 1983 memo and making the IRS do the same cost/benefit analysis as other agencies.  
  • One troubling excuse provided by Treasury is that the IRS does not have the personnel qualified to perform the required cost-benefit analysis.

 

Can’t Perform the Cost-Benefit Analysis?

 

This is the most troubling part of Ms. Strassel’s article.  The IRS operates in back rooms where they craft often incredibly complex regulations and rules that adversely affect all of us and they either arrogantly don’t care about the effect on the rest of us or just have no idea of how the real world works.

 

Most of us have received treatment from government bureaucrats that would never be tolerated in the private sector.  Why, because if we receive rude treatment in the private sector we can go to another provider.  This is not true with the government and particularly with the federal government.

 

We all know that many bureaucrats enjoy exercising power over others.  We also know that Congressional Budget Office reports show that from 2011-2015, the only workers who did not get a bigger benefits and compensation package than federal government employees  doing similar jobs were private workers with a professional degree or doctorate degree.   Couple this with the fact that it is very difficult to terminate federal workers and they can be excused for feeling that they are not answerable to anyone.

 

If you take all of this into consideration, you can see why these IRS bureaucrats can arrogantly state that they are above the law.

 

Why Doesn’t Secretary Mnuchin Make the IRS Accountable?

 

Guess we would have to ask him?  He works for President Trump.  One can surmise that the IRS senior officials have convinced him that having to comply with the rules other agencies must follow is going to affect the collection of revenue.  

 

Why is this?  Because the Income Tax Code is so incomprehensible that few, if any, IRS employees understand it and they cannot meet the requirement to show the benefit of their regulations outweighing the cost.   A neutral observer would find that this is not entirely the fault of the IRS employees.  Many parts of the Internal Revenue Code have become so complex because they are trying to accommodate one or another special interest or social objective that no one could write intelligible regulations that show that the costs to business and individuals is less than the benefits to the Treasury.  

 

Conclusion

 

George Washington, our first president, was born on February 22, 1732.  Against all odds and common wisdom, he led a rag-tag army that ultimately defeated the mightiest army in the world.  Although he was pressured by many of his officers to become king, he refused and returned to his home at Mt. Vernon.  

When told of Washington’s refusal to accept power, King George III said to the American painter, Benjamin West, “If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.”

After serving two terms as president, Washington was again offered the ability to become king but again he rejected the offer.  He wanted to go back to Mt. Vernon.

One can only suspect what Washington would think about the bureaucrats at the IRS who are horrified at the idea that they have to actually meet the same standards as other federal regulators.  Washington led a rebellion against this type of arrogance by George III and the other English leaders who believed that they should decide what was appropriate for the colonies and were not accountable to the colonists.

Washington would likely tell the bureaucrats who say that they cannot comply with the rules that apply to everyone else, “It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.”  

 

The IRS must obey the law.  If the law cannot be followed then don’t justify not following the law but change the law.  As Washington also said, “Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light.” We have to take pains to shine the light on this hypocrisy.

 

We can never, ever give up if we want to save our country from the Swamp and the actions of people who believe that the rest of us are not capable of making decisions for ourselves.  For the sake our children and grandchildren, we have to take the way we fund our government out of the hands of the Swamp and 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.

 

LIVE FROM CPAC! 

THE FAIRTAX GUYS ARE BROADCASTING LIVE THIS WEEK

This week, Thursday, 2/22, Friday 2/23 and Saturday 2/24, The FAIRtax Guys are broadcasting LIVE from the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington DC, one of the biggest political conferences of the year.  You can listen to us LIVE on Spreaker at: http://bit.ly/2oesbk7 from 12 noon to 5pm on Thursday & Friday and from 9am to 12 noon on Saturday.  We also plan to do Facebook LIVE events during the interviews with Congressmen, candidates and other public figures. You can see the Facebook LIVE videos at: https://www.facebook.com/FairTax/ and possibly the FairTax Nation page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fairtaxnation/ (We’re still working on this one!)

 

When each broadcast ends on Spreaker, it automatically becomes a podcast that you can listen to at any time. Our podcasts on Spreaker are also distributed to iTunes, iHeart Radio, SoundCloud and YouTube. 

 

Also, the Facebook LIVE videos will be saved on the https://www.facebook.com/FairTax/ page and possibly the FairTax Nation page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fairtaxnation/ (We’re still working on this one!)

 

Check our social media sites for daily updates: https://www.facebook.com/FairTax/, https://www.facebook.com/groups/fairtaxnation/ and https://www.facebook.com/thefairtaxguys/

 

The FAIRtax Guys wish to thank Marilyn Rickert of FairTax Nation for her generous offer to share her booth (#600) during this big event. It’s a great opportunity to educate more people about the FAIRtax and The FAIRtax Guys are very grateful to be invited. 

 

LAST WEEK’S EPISODE

In last week’s episode, The FAIRtax Guys continued their discussion of The State of Taxation in America.  It’s not a pretty story, but someone has to tell it!  As Bob frequently says, no one could design a more fraud prone, error prone, complicated, unfair system of taxation if they tried. The income tax system is a mess because Congress has had over 100 years to screw it up.  Listen to this episode to get the specifics and learn what you can do about it.  More informed citizens is the key to getting the FAIRtax passed into law. 

 

HELP THE FAIRTAX GUYS EDUCATE OTHERS ABOUT REAL TAX REFORM.  Telling your friends and relatives about our free weekly podcasts is a great way to help us garner more support.  It is the American people who must demand REAL tax reform in Congress.  We must inform America about the FAIRtax!  Please help us.

 

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.  If you have trouble finding our free app, download the free Spreaker app. 

 

We post a new episode every Friday morning.  Please listen and tell everyone you know about the FAIRtax Power Radio.  

 

The FAIRtax: Once You Understand It, You’ll Demand It!




 

AMERICA’S BIG SOLUTION - WHERE ONE BEGINS THEIR JOURNEY INTO THE FAIRTAX

 

America’s Big Solution is a basic introduction to the FAIRtax and is meant for people of any age.  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 your 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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