Chairman’s Report - September 21, 2018

WE THE PEOPLE

September 17th is a date that is largely ignored.   The media is full of talk about whether Judge Kavanaugh physically pressured a young lady, while he and the young lady were in high school over 30 years ago, and about President Trump imposing tariffs on China.  But it is a very important date in the history of the United States.
 
In 1777, the states in revolt against England passed the Articles of Confederation.  However, the recently victorious states were in agreement that the Articles were not working.  The states agreed to send delegates to Philadelphia for the purpose of making changes to the Articles.
 
Once in Philadelphia, the delegates made the decision to not amend the Articles but to create a new form of government.  In order to deliberate openly, the delegates agreed to keep the proceedings confidential.  While there are some notes and diaries kept by the delegates, there is no complete record of the proceedings.
 
On September 17, 1787, the United States Constitution was signed in the assembly room of the Pennsylvania State House which is now known as Independence Hall—the same place the Declaration of Independence was signed.
 
The Constitution would not go into effect until ratified by nine states.  There was vigorous debate in the states about whether to adopt the Constitution; the famous Federalist Papers, largely written by James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, were circulated through the states and were credited by many as ensuring the states would adopt the Constitution.  While many heroes of the Revolution like Patrick Henry opposed the Constitution, on June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify. 
 
The Preamble of the Constitution eloquently expresses the intent of its drafters:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” 


THE FAIRTAX AND FREEDOM

John Locke, the great 17th century English philosopher, said “The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings capable of law, where there is no law, there is no freedom.”
 
All of us recognize the need to provide funds to governments.  We also know that societies without laws are anarchies and no one is really free.  If, as Locke says, the purpose of law is to preserve and enlarge freedom, then should not the United States and our elected leaders look to enact a system of taxation like the one contemplated by the people who wrote the Constitution, which collects the revenue needed but in the manner least offensive to the freedom of its citizens?
 
The FAIRtax collects the same amount of revenue as the income/payroll tax system.  In fact, most studies show it will grow the economy faster and collect more revenue.
 
The FAIRtax provides the freedom for each citizen to determine how much in taxes they pay to the federal government by how much they choose to spend on new goods and retail services.
 
The FAIRtax doesn’t infringe on the freedom of its citizens by demanding that they file annual, or more frequent, reports to the government showing not only their income but also many of their expenditures of medical expenses, charitable contributions and home mortgage expenses.
 
It is often said that people often vote with their actions—even in the most despotic countries.  More and more people are expressing their disdain for the present income/payroll tax system and illegally evading it.  This evasion is going to grow to $9 trillion dollars over the next decade. 
 
There will be evasion under the FAIRtax but almost certainly much less. 


CONCLUSION

There are many economic reasons to replace the income/payroll tax system but sometimes we forget the most important reason of all—restoring more freedom.  As Locke says, this is the purpose of laws.
 
Isn’t it time to step back and think about a simple and effective way to give freedom back to Americans—The FAIRTAX!

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. 
 

#126 THE PREBATE - KEY TO FAIRNESS OF THE FAIRTAX

With some people when they first hear of the FAIRtax, the knee-jerk reaction is “If it’s a sales tax, it’s regressive and it’ll hurt the poor.”  Not so with the FAIRtax.  Why?  The Prebate of course!  The Prebate is the single most important feature of the FAIRtax in that it ensures that it will not be regressive. How can this be?
 
Watch this episode of FAIRtax Power Radio and find out.  Bob Paxton created a Power Point which we use during the show to demonstrate very clearly how the FAIRtax will be “naturally” progressive, not regressive. 
 
It is critically important that you understand the Prebate because with out it, the FAIRtax would be just another sales tax and would have no chance of becoming law. 
 
Watch this episode, learn more about the Prebate and help teach others about the FAIRtax.
 
Be sure to inform everyone you know about the new FAIRtax Power Radio.  Watch every Wednesday at 11:30 AM (ET).  We are streaming to Facebook LIVE (www.facebook.com/fairtax).  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.  

FTPR podcasts for each show are posted on Spreaker (http://bit.ly/2oesbk7), iTunes & iHeart Radio every Friday morning.  A free FAIRtax Power Radio app is available for iOS and Android.  Since it’s a podcast, you can download it and play it whenever it’s convenient for you.

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. 

We need to educate as many Americans about the FAIRtax as possible.  Be sure to tell all you know about this great new format for FAIRtax Power Radio.  Whether you watch the weekly video or listen to the weekly podcast, this is a great way for more Americans to learn about the best tax reform plan in Congress at this time.

Tune into our video broadcast each Wednesday.  If you prefer, you can 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.  

Remember, FTPR digital TV every Wednesday at 11:30 AM (ET) followed by the podcast on Friday morning.  Please listen and tell everyone you know about the FAIRtax Power Radio.  The FAIRtax: Once You Understand It, You’ll Demand It!

A SMALL BOOK ON A BIG SUBJECT - 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 in a booklet 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.

• The website of Americans for Fair Taxation (www.fairtax.org)
• Read the Summary of the Evasion Study. 
• Welcome to the Online FAIRtax Community  (member.fairtax.org) 
• The website at which you can help make it happen. (www.bigsolution.org)
• The Facebook page for Americans for Fair Taxation 
• The Facebook page for The FAIRtax Guys 
• The Twitter page for Americans for Fair Taxation 
• PopVox - Connecting people and lawmakers for more effective participation and better governing 
• YouTube channel for AFFT 
• YouTube channel for The FAIRtax Guys
• The Official FAIRtax Logo Store (www.fairtaxlogostore.org)
• Xcluded.tv - A new platform for FAIRtax Power Radio Video and other shows.

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!