THE COST OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS—ESPECIALLY THE INCOME TAX
The talking heads on the legacy media shows are becoming more and more frantic as inauguration day approaches. They are alarmed because it appears that President Trump is renewing his commitment to eliminate many federal regulations and terminate the employment of many federal regulators.
These talking heads are convinced that without the regulators and their regulations, the ordinary people who run companies and live in America will not be able to survive. After all, these regulators, who likely have not had employment in the private sector since they mowed lawns or babysat, know they are much smarter than everyone else.
Many think that the Trump team’s animosity toward regulations and regulators is simply an attack on the Deep State. That’s partially true, but remember that Mr. Trump is a businessman. He understands the many economic reasons for eliminating unnecessary regulations.
Ten Thousand Commandments, a study prepared by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, reviews data on the cost of regulations to the economy. Here are some of the findings:
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Federal regulations now cost an estimated $2.1 trillion per year but an October 2023 National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) report models regulatory compliance at $3.079 trillion annually.
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US households pay on average $15,788 annually in a hidden regulatory tax, which consumes 17 percent of income and 22 percent of household expenses.
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These outlays exceed expenditures for health care, food, transportation, entertainment, apparel, services, and savings. Only the costs of housing, which stand at $24,298 annually, exceed the cost of regulation compliance.
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The higher NAM figure implies that regulatory compliance consumes $22,962 per household, or 31 percent of the household expense budget.
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The regulatory tax of $2.117 trillion compares to the individual income tax costs estimated at $2.328 trillion for 2023 and stands at nearly four times the corporate income tax of $546 billion.
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The NAM cost figure of $3.1 trillion annually would exceed the sum of both ($2.9 trillion).
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If it were a country, US regulation costs would be the world’s 10th-largest economy, ranking behind Canada and ahead of Italy.
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If we exclude the US economy from the list, the US regulation economy would be the ninth largest, still behind Canada and ahead of Italy.
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The 10.34 billion hours Washington says it took to complete federal paperwork in 2022, according to the Information Collection Budget, translate to the equivalent of 14,883 human lifetimes.
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The tally of final rules for 2023 stood at 3,018, which is the second-lowest count since at least 1976.
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On the other hand, the Federal Register containing those rules surged to 89,368 pages, the second-highest tally on record and a 12 percent rise over 2022.
CONCLUSION
President Trump and Elon Musk believe:
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Some regulations are needed.
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However, many regulations are the result of unelected bureaucrats who are far exceeding their mandate from Congress and are not needed.
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Unneeded regulations are crippling the American economy and the small businesses who contribute approximately 43.5% of the U.S. gross domestic product.
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Repealing unneeded regulations and eliminating unneeded regulators will lead to a rapid increase in economic growth which will benefit all Americans.
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If one-half of the costs of regulation were eliminated, the average U.S. household would have an additional $7,894 to spend each year.
Please reach out to your Members of Congress and remind them:
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Income tax complexity now costs the U.S. economy over $546 billion annually.
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This works out to over $4,000 per family in additional annual costs that they pay.
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Millions of American jobs are lost by the income tax incentives given to imports.
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The FAIRtax will replace the income tax and immediately eliminate the IRS and put tens of thousands of tax lobbyists out of work.
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No other reform will be immediately felt by all Americans and will do more to increase the growth of the American economy.
This is our opportunity to make a real change that will lead to greater prosperity for our children and the nation—and it’s an opportunity that may not come again in our lifetime.
We must come together and ensure that real tax reform, the FAIRtax, is not subverted by the Elites in D.C.
This will take the diligent efforts of all of us. We need your financial assistance and we need your grass roots assistance.
Please email us at info@fairtax.org and we will give you some options on how you can best help us.
At a minimum please call your Congressional representative and ask if he or she supports the FAIRtax. If so, thank him/her for their support and suggest they become a cosponsor of HR-25 if they’re not one already. If not, ask why not. If your representative claims to be unfamiliar with the FAIRtax, offer to have someone come to their office and explain it to them.
Please go to this link to invest in AFFT and help us pass the FAIRtax. It’s an investment in your and your family’s future.
THE SOLUTION—PASS THE FAIRTAX!
Why would D.C. pass the FAIRtax and give up this almost unlimited source of donations? The only way that they will is if the rest of us demand it!
Isn’t it time to end this ludicrous tax collection system and the IRS?
HELP BRING ABOUT REAL TAX REFORM AND STOP FUTURE IRS ABUSES
By contributing (investing) $10.40 per month, you help provide a financial base to AFFT. If you can make larger contributions (investments), these will be used not for salaries, as we are all volunteers, but for the needed updates to our economic studies which will be vital for all future years.
Please go to this link to invest in AFFT and help us pass the FAIRtax. It’s an investment in your and your family’s future.