The FairTax’s simpler approach benefits everyone

The Democrats in control of Congress and the presidency seek to transform our county. If they are successful in passing and signing into law the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package that is being forced through Congress via arcane budget procedures, to the objections of both Republicans and Democrats, Americans will see the biggest expansion of government accompanied by the largest tax increase in a generation.

While the specifics have not been finalized, expect to see the corporate tax rate get raised from 21% to 28%, the highest business tax rate in the developed world. The top marginal rate would go up as well, while the income threshold would be lowered, breaking the president’s promise to not raise taxes on anyone making under $400,000. And the elimination of a “stepped-up basis” would devastate family businesses. This is all to provide some funding for the Democrats’ expensive policies, adding trillions of dollars to our already significant debt over the next 10 years.

To add to the damages, the package promises to pay for more of its expensive policies through increased enforcement by the IRS. It doubles the size of the IRS by hiring almost 87,000 new agents over the next decade and increases IRS funding by $80 billion for the explicit purpose of increased enforcement. Now, anyone familiar with the agency’s history will know that this will result in the weaponization of the agency to harass and squeeze money out of taxpayers.

People across America already collectively spend more on taxes than they do on food, clothing, and housing combined, only to see partisan gridlock over how their taxpayer dollars are spent. At the same time, 61% of U.S. residents, or more than 100 million, paid no federal income taxes last year. No wonder trust in government is on the decline.