John Linder served as an Air Force officer from 1967-69, after which he started his dental practice in Atlanta. He went on to establish several businesses over the next few years. In 1975, he was sworn into the Georgia House of Representatives, where he discovered the manner in which elected officials could reward their allies and punish their adversaries through the tax code. This experience solidified John's belief in completely overhauling the tax code in favor of a more simple, fair, and voluntary system.
In 1999, during his third term in congress, John was introduced to the leadership of Americans for Fair Taxation and introduced the Fairtax that same year in July. He believed that the Fairtax would eventually become law due to its broader base, lower rate, and increased anonymity compared to past tax reform proposals. John pointed out that the bottom 50% of American earners, who collectively only paid 3% of all income taxes, also disproportionately benefit from government programs, making them a significant political force in favor of larger government. He also noted that past tax increases, which promised to raise the tax rate only on the top 2% of income earners, failed because these individuals had the means to move their income to other jurisdictions.
John is committed to the idea that no government agency should know more about individuals than what they are willing to share with their own children.
