Chairman’s Report – May 6, 2016

Donald Trump And The FAIRtax
 
Now that Senator Cruz and Governor Kasich have suspended their campaigns, Donald Trump is the “presumptive” Republican nominee for President.  A key question is if a President Trump would consider passing the FAIRtax?   No one knows but here are some thoughts.
 
His Public Comments
 
Prior to Trump’s release of his flat income tax plan, he made several favorable statements about the FAIRtax.  He often lumped them into the discussion of tax reform.  In June of 2015, Trump was doing an interview on Morning Joe and said that tax reform was needed.  He said that it might be the FAIRtax or the flat tax.  (At about 7:30 into the video clip.)
 
There were other times when he spoke about the FAIRtax favorably.  However, many campaign “experts” advise clients to stay away from complicated solutions.  That is why Ted Cruz, a cosponsor of the FAIRtax, said that he wanted to eliminate the IRS but proposed a flat personal income tax and a value added tax.  While many of us believe that not proposing the FAIRtax is a mistake, Trump will not have to defend each element of an actual bill before Congress.  A flat income tax that simplifies the present system is easy to explain but difficult to attack.  Who wants to defend the present income tax? 
 
As Mark Twain said, “A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”  Everyone can agree on the need for a simpler system but many who oppose Trump would attack the FAIRtax—often with lies that will be difficult to refute because the replies will be ignored by people who want to keep the present income/payroll tax system.  
 
His Staff
 
I have personally met with members of Trump’s campaign staff and know that Trump is familiar with the FAIRtax. Sara, Mike Huckabee’s daughter is a senior staff member and, like her father, a huge supporter of the FAIRtax.  Mike Huckabee is also close to Trump and is a true believer in the FAIRtax.  Trump definitely understands how the FAIRtax works and its benefits.
 
Problems With Trump And Public Perception
 
Another problem with a wealthy man like Trump supporting the FAIRtax in the general election is that the opposition will say that this is a tax plan that benefits him because it allows him to escape paying personal and corporate income taxes and estate taxes.  He can certainly explain that he spends a lot of money that will be taxed and that he has arranged his income to pay a low rate but all of this will just make him look like someone trying to escape paying his “fair share.”   As my dad used to say, “When you are explaining you are losing.”
 
Conclusion
 
Donald Trump is a smart man and has made his fortune finding the best ways to accomplish his goals.  There is no doubt that he has profited from working the government to obtain advantages—as all of his competitors have done. 
 
If elected president, Trump will have a number of problems to address.  However, one of the most pressing is the broken income/payroll tax system.  Unlike many politicians who benefit from making things more complicated and are not punished when costs exceed expectations, Trump is used to finding the most efficient and cost-effective solution.  If he didn’t in his business life then he would fail. 
 
While most of us would prefer that Trump was an outspoken advocate of the FAIRtax, we should also understand that he might very well support the FAIRtax if elected president.   If Mr. Trump becomes President Trump, there is little doubt that we will have the opportunity to present the FAIRtax.
 
America’s Big Solution
 
One of the things that is upsetting to most of us is that our leaders in D.C. act like the solution to our problems is more of the same.  They are ignoring Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity, Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

We have a 20th century tax system when we need a 21st century tax system.  That is why we created BigSolution.org.   America does need a big solution and the FAIRtax is the big solution!   Please send your friends to FAIRtax.org and Bigsolution.org. 
 
1040 Club and Contributions
 
To those of you not familiar with the 1040 Club, AFFT is asking people to contribute $10.40 per month to AFFT. This provides a steady funding platform and allows us to spend our time not trying to raise money but actually working with groups to help make passage of the FAIRtax a reality. 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.
 
If you believe that all you can contribute to our efforts is $10, please go to FAIRtax.org and donate.  We have our best chance now and need your help.  Many of us prefer to make one donation as opposed to monthly donations and this greatly helps.
 
FAIRtax Power Radio
 
There are many ways in which people can help us educate more Americans about the FAIRtax.  In Programs 29 & 30, the FAIRtax Guys describe how listeners can support and promote our efforts. Program 29 concentrates on simple but effective things for people with busy schedules, whereas Program 30 suggests some activities that might take a little more time.  The programs are free to the listeners.  Please share these links with your friends and relatives.
 
To listen to FTPR on SoundCloud (free and audio only) go to these links:
 
FTPR Program 29 on SoundCloud: http://bit.ly/1ZGihQp
 
FTPR Program 30 on SoundCloud: http://bit.ly/1RwsPfF
 
FTPR Program 29 on YouTube: http://bit.ly/1PAAKXb
 
FTPR Program 30 on YouTube: http://bit.ly/1Rnxrbi

To listen to FTPR on SoundCloud (free and audio only) go to these links:
 
FTPR Program 29 on SoundCloud: http://bit.ly/1ZGihQp
 
FTPR Program 30 on SoundCloud: http://bit.ly/1RwsPfF
 
FTPR Program 29 on YouTube: http://bit.ly/1PAAKXb
 
FTPR Program 30 on YouTube: http://bit.ly/1Rnxrbi
 
AFFT National LOGO Store
     
The Store is pleased to offer to supporters an autographed copy of the FairTax book entitled The Truth, Answering the Critics, which was issued in 2008. This book was in response to the original FairTax Book issued in 2005.

Unique in many ways, and sure to be a collector’s item, each book was personally signed in March/April 2016 by the original authors Neal Boortz and Congressman John Linder plus the 2015-16 Congressional Sponsors of The FairTax Bill, Senator Jerry Moran and Congressman Rob Woodall. The authenticity of these four signatures on the first page of each book is guaranteed by the FAIRtax℠ Store.

Books are limited to one per customer since our supply is extremely limited. Don’t miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity, order your collectable book today. The price includes US Priority Box Shipping/Handling.

WWW.FAIRTAXLOGOSTORE.ORG
 
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!