Tax Day letter to the Desert Sun
This week’s Grassroots Corner comes from Paul Forrest of La Quinta, California. Paul wrote the following letter to The Desert Sun of Palm Springs, California, that came out on Tax Day, April 15, 2024:
“Headline: It's Tax Day. Here's a bipartisan solution to how we pay taxes (Special to The Desert Sun)
“Today is Tax Day in America. To meet the government’s tax filing deadline, you’ve either paid a CPA or a tax pro to take all your records and somehow produce a tax return or you have slogged away at it by yourself to hopefully get the job done. In my case, it takes two days of my time away from the golf course to enter stuff into TurboTax. It is a colossal waste of my time and money. And it is not what I want to do with either. You probably agree.
“But think about it: the people in Washington, D.C. or in state houses across this country who we elect (in both political parties) are supposed to represent us. I would bet that people from both registered political parties do not want to do all this tax stuff either. It may very well be the most bipartisan issue of our time. Despite that, our elected representatives force us to do this every year and for that matter, throughout the year. This is confounding because there are better alternatives out there to collect taxes.
“Two immediately come to mind: 1) the FairTax – a national sales tax and 2) a Flat Tax.
“In place of the mess we currently have – a myriad tax laws that tend to control our behavior – I for one would be willing to try either one of the above alternatives. But no. No one in the government ever raises such an alternative – even when they are lying to us about all the good things they will do if we just vote for them. And why is that?
“To go to a national sales tax or flat tax would be to relinquish the control these people have over us. Tax laws can influence behavior. The alternatives cannot.
“The Flat Tax is simple enough. Everyone applies one tax rate to their income. The less you earn, the less you pay. The more you earn, the more you pay. The only thing to worry about is our congressional representatives increasing the rate every year. We would have to put some kind of control over that into the tax laws.
“The FairTax is no doubt less known to taxpayers. There are two books that will explain it:
‘The FairTax Book – Saying Goodbye to the Income Tax and the IRS’ (not to mention the Social Security tax, the Medicare tax, the alternative minimum tax, the gift tax, capital gains taxes, tax audits, and some major headaches every April 15) – by Neal Boortz (syndicated talk show host) and former Georgia Congressman John Linder (Regan Books, 2005)
‘FairTax: The Truth – Answering the Critics’ – by Neal Boortz, John Linder with Rob Woodall (Harper Books, 2008)
“So next time you go to a political rally or talk to a prospective member of congress or state assembly, ask them about whether they support the abolishment of our current tax regime in favor of either the fair tax or the flat tax.
“Then sit back and watch them squirm.”
We thank Paul for taking the time and making the effort to publish a letter in his local paper on this most targeted of days. People like Paul give the FAIRtax much needed publicity.
“Headline: It's Tax Day. Here's a bipartisan solution to how we pay taxes (Special to The Desert Sun)
“Today is Tax Day in America. To meet the government’s tax filing deadline, you’ve either paid a CPA or a tax pro to take all your records and somehow produce a tax return or you have slogged away at it by yourself to hopefully get the job done. In my case, it takes two days of my time away from the golf course to enter stuff into TurboTax. It is a colossal waste of my time and money. And it is not what I want to do with either. You probably agree.
“But think about it: the people in Washington, D.C. or in state houses across this country who we elect (in both political parties) are supposed to represent us. I would bet that people from both registered political parties do not want to do all this tax stuff either. It may very well be the most bipartisan issue of our time. Despite that, our elected representatives force us to do this every year and for that matter, throughout the year. This is confounding because there are better alternatives out there to collect taxes.
“Two immediately come to mind: 1) the FairTax – a national sales tax and 2) a Flat Tax.
“In place of the mess we currently have – a myriad tax laws that tend to control our behavior – I for one would be willing to try either one of the above alternatives. But no. No one in the government ever raises such an alternative – even when they are lying to us about all the good things they will do if we just vote for them. And why is that?
“To go to a national sales tax or flat tax would be to relinquish the control these people have over us. Tax laws can influence behavior. The alternatives cannot.
“The Flat Tax is simple enough. Everyone applies one tax rate to their income. The less you earn, the less you pay. The more you earn, the more you pay. The only thing to worry about is our congressional representatives increasing the rate every year. We would have to put some kind of control over that into the tax laws.
“The FairTax is no doubt less known to taxpayers. There are two books that will explain it:
‘The FairTax Book – Saying Goodbye to the Income Tax and the IRS’ (not to mention the Social Security tax, the Medicare tax, the alternative minimum tax, the gift tax, capital gains taxes, tax audits, and some major headaches every April 15) – by Neal Boortz (syndicated talk show host) and former Georgia Congressman John Linder (Regan Books, 2005)
‘FairTax: The Truth – Answering the Critics’ – by Neal Boortz, John Linder with Rob Woodall (Harper Books, 2008)
“So next time you go to a political rally or talk to a prospective member of congress or state assembly, ask them about whether they support the abolishment of our current tax regime in favor of either the fair tax or the flat tax.
“Then sit back and watch them squirm.”
We thank Paul for taking the time and making the effort to publish a letter in his local paper on this most targeted of days. People like Paul give the FAIRtax much needed publicity.
Paul Forrest grew up in the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area. He was a member of the Naval Air Reserve in 1966. Paul graduated from San Francisco State University in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree with a concentration in Accounting. He worked for Chevron Corporation for 32 years in Finance.
Paul is married with two children and three grandchildren. He is now retired and lives most of the year in La Quinta, California next to Joshua Tree National Park, inland from Los Angeles. Paul has a summer home in Arnold, California, Northeast of San Francisco and Southeast of Sacramento.
Paul writes a conservative political blog (“The Daily Outrage”) with a circulation of about 1,000 readers.
Paul enjoys golf twice a week with his wife and friends and loves to spend two to three weeks in Maui every year for the weather, golf, restaurants, and people.
I would love to hear if you had any Tax Day activities like Paul’s.
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We need more of you to send in pictures and news. If you have something to share, please send your material to me, jim.bennett@fairtax.org, (908) 578-4975, or fax (908) 598-2888. When others see your activity, they are inspired, and the process snowballs. When the process snowballs, Congress Members, Senators, and even the President start to listen.
CALL FOR PICTURES AND WRITEUPS
We need more of you to send in pictures and news. If you have something to share, please send your material to me, jim.bennett@fairtax.org, (908) 578-4975, or fax (908) 598-2888. When others see your activity, they are inspired, and the process snowballs. When the process snowballs, Congress Members, Senators, and even the President start to listen.
Jim Bennett
AFFT Grassroots Coordinator & Secretary🇺🇸 Call For Pictures & WriteUps - When others see your activity, they are inspired, the process snowballs and Representatives, Senators and, yes, even the President start to listen to you and me. Please send your material to me at Jim.Bennett@FAIRtax.org.
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