This week’s Chairman’s Report is written by Jade Walle. A practicing CPA has been on the American For Fair Taxation board of directors.
The FAIRtax Experiment- Have no Fear!
When describing the FAIRtax to people, including people who generally believe the FAIRtax is an incredible plan and replacing the IRS and the income tax sounds liberating, there is always a slight fear I sense in the back of their minds.
This fear can best be described as the fear of the unknown, the fear of trying an entirely new system on such a massive scale, with no track record or test run to allay their concerns. People are creatures of habit, and there are idioms that describe our human condition such as the famous quotation “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.”
Well friend, I bring good news that should ease your mind! While the FAIRtax in its entirety hasn’t been tried anywhere yet, many don’t realize that a few of the largest economies in the world have been thriving for decades using a tax system that is quite similar to the FAIRtax.
Why haven’t I heard about this? Where are these large economies and what exactly are you talking about?
According to the Florida Chamber of Commerce in a July 2024 report, Florida’s economy ($1.58 trillion in GDP with over 23 million residents) continues to grow at a rapid clip, and if Florida were its own country, it would rank as the 16th largest economy in the world, based on GDP! Florida comes in just behind the 15th largest economy in the world, Spain.
So, what is Florida’s secret? While many factors come into play, it is fairly well known that Florida has no state income tax. This means that when you live, work, and earn your income in Florida, the state does not help itself to a cut of your money like so many other U.S. states do.
Florida’s state government and its municipalities are funded entirely with sales taxes and other revenue generators (e.g., fees and property taxes). The base state sales tax in Florida is 6%.
Many Florida counties and municipalities add a point or two more for local funding initiatives.
Just think, the 16th largest economy in the world, free of any income tax, functions in such a way that people continue to flock to Florida in high numbers.
It is worth noting that Florida’s system could be even better if it were aligned more closely with the actual FAIRtax. This would mean every Florida resident would get a Florida state tax prebate, to refund the state sales tax on life’s necessities.
Florida could go even further and get rid of their property taxes and include all funding necessities within the Florida state sales tax rate. The revenue Florida would bring in would not change, it would just be completely derived from the sales tax. This would eliminate the massive cost of administering a property tax system (think county by county valuations, protests, mill levies, etc.).
Florida’s system of taxation would also immediately transform into a more progressive and less regressive system, given the prebate mechanism.
Alright, I’m sure your mind has already travelled west to the no-income tax state of Texas, so what’s the story there? According to an April 29, 2025 article by Brandi D. Addison from the Austin American Statesman, Texas’ $2.7 trillion GDP would rank Texas 8th in the world if it were its own independent country (which it has been before). This puts Texas ahead of Russia, Canada, and Italy, wow!
As mentioned earlier, Texas has no state income tax and funds its state government through its base 6.25% state sales tax (with add-on’s for particular municipalities), along with property taxes.
For the cherry on top, A July 12, 2025 article by Scott Cohn at CNBC ranked America’s 10 strongest state economies best prepared for a recession. These are the ten states that have the most economic strength and stability. The study was based on factors such as economic growth and state finances among other factors. Guess who was ranked first and second in this study? Drum roll please. You guessed it, Florida is #1 and Texas came in at #2. No surprises here.
So, the 8th and 16th largest economies in the world not only survive, but effectively thrive using a tax system where there is no income tax, and sales taxes fund a substantial portion of the government’s needs. Let these facts reassure you and those you talk to about the FAIRtax. It has been tried and tested. It not only functions, but it excels as a taxation system that is one of the most business-friendly systems in the world! What are we waiting for?
CONCLUSION
Many D.C. elites and politicians try to dismiss FAIRtax supporters by demanding to know where this type of tax has been used. While neither Florida nor Texas is a “country”, the fact is that any tax system should be judged by if it makes people, not the elites and politicians, more prosperous.
The D.C. Elites and almost all politicians and their minions profit from the complexity of the income/payroll tax while the rest of us pay for their greed. They will oppose this simplification unless we the people demand it.
Many of you have labored tirelessly for freedom from the federal income tax and the IRS. You deserve a great deal of credit for your efforts to educate the American people on the need to fund the American government in a way that is good for America and returns freedom to the American people.
It is imperative, though, that we don’t replace the current income tax and the IRS with an alternative system that can still be manipulated by the Ruling Elite. We must let Congress and the President know that the best way to replace the income tax and the IRS is with the FAIRtax.
Make no mistake about it. The FAIRtax is a grave threat to the Ruling Elites. It will strip them of their power and their ability to control us though the tax system. Their opposition to the FAIRtax will be fierce and unrelenting. And don’t think for an instant that they won’t use half-truths, deception and downright lies in their desperate attempt to hang on to their power.
However, with the support of this President, we can finally eliminate the income tax and the IRS!!!
Of course, the best course of action is to not only repeal the income tax and abolish the IRS but to repeal the 16th Amendment as well so no future administration can ever shackle the American people with an income tax again.
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.
If you have contacts that will allow us to get more information to President Trump about the FAIRtax please let us know.
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.