Keeping Uncle Sam Out

Nowadays, the federal tax code is so complicated that the average American needs to hire an accountant and a tax preparer to wade through the nearly 4 million word document. According to the Taxpayer Advocate Service, individuals and businesses devoted an estimated 6.1 billion hours and spent $29.6 billion on software, fees, and supplies to comply with our current tax code. In other words, Americans spent more of their hard-earned cash last year on taxes than on food, clothing, and household expenses combined. As it stands, the 70,000 plus pages of federal code consists of many taxes including:

• Income taxes – taxes we pay on earnings.
• Payroll taxes – taxes employees and employers pay for Social Security and Medicare on their earnings.
• Excise taxes – taxes we pay if we buy specific goods like gasoline.
• Death taxes – taxes that individuals must pay on the estate after the passing of a loved one.
• Gift taxes – taxes we pay when we receive a cash gift.

These are just a few of the many types of taxes levied by the federal government. Simply put, this situation is shameful, and these staggering figures demonstrate that it's time to simplify the tax code – and finally get the IRS out of our lives once and for all. That’s why one of my first acts upon entering Congress was to co-sponsor H.R. 25, the Fair Tax Act of 2015. This national consumption tax would replace taxes on income, payroll, and capital gains while rolling back the duties of the IRS and eliminating red tape.

The Fair Tax is the single best option for real tax reform and one of the most widely co-sponsored pieces of legislation in Congress. It takes the power out of the hands of bureaucrats in Washington and puts it back into the hands of hardworking Americans by placing all taxpayers on equal footing. If enacted, Americans would be taxed solely on the consumption of new goods or services—not on their earnings. This would give taxpayers the authority to control their own financial future. The Fair Tax, quite simply, is the best solution to reducing the frustration and inequality of our current income tax system, thereby boosting economic growth, and incentivizing savings and investment, while also collecting revenue at comparable levels of current taxation.

Although no tax system is perfect and reform is not an easy task, the code we have in place is irreparably broken and must be overhauled sooner rather than later. Furthermore, no government agency should be allowed to target groups based on their political beliefs, especially the agency that has the power to destroy one's financial well-being. 

For the sake of the American people, it is past time we implement a consumption tax and give the Fair Tax the chance it deserves.

Congressman Jody Hice, a Georgia native, was born in Atlanta and raised in Tucker, Georgia. Dr. Hice graduated from Asbury College, earned his Master’s degree from Southwestern Seminary as well as a Doctor of Ministry from Luther Rice University. Dr. Hice served as pastor in three Georgia counties for almost 25 years, and went on to found the Jody Hice Show, a conservative talk radio program. Congressman Hice and his wife of thirty years, Dee Dee, reside in Walton County and have two daughters and four grandchildren. Congressman Hice took office in 2015 as the representative of Georgia’s 10th Congressional District and serves on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee.