Chairman Reports

When the FAIRtax is explained to many audiences, it is easy to see people thinking of the impact on their family if items were increased in price by 23%. Since most in the audience are on a budget, the prospect of suddenly paying that much more is very concerning… Read More.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT– July 3, 2018 by: Steve Hayes, AFFT Chairman and President Share Tweet FACTS ABOUT THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE AND ITS SIGNERS For many Americans, July 4th has become a day off from work and an opportunity to gather with family and maybe enjoy a fireworks show. For some, there are 4th of July parades. For others, it is just an opportunity to catch up on their sleep and maybe do some chores around the house. However, in a conversation with Phil Hinson, a member of the AFFT board of directors and Vice President, we discussed how so many people seem to have forgotten the real risks and consequences faced by the 56 men signing the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Many of these men were wealthy and all were living comfortable lives. They were also intelligent men that recognized that they were advocating a rebellion against the greatest military power on earth. This was a time when traitors, and these men were considered traitors by the British, were at best imprisoned but most often just slain. These men also fully knew that they were not only risking their life and property but the welfare of their families because often their assets were also seized. They fully appreciated that the last sentence of the Declaration was more than just eloquent words. “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress, was one of the wealthiest people in the colonies. His large signature on the Declaration of Independence was his act of defiance to the British who had posted a large reward for his capture. When he signed, he commented, “The British ministry can read that name without spectacles; let them double their reward.” No delegate missed the meaning of John Hancock’s statement, “We must be unanimous; there must be no pulling different ways; we must hang together.” Nor did anyone miss the import of Benjamin Franklin’s words as he prepared to sign when he echoed the sentiments of Hancock, “We must all hang together or most assuredly we will all hang separately.” No one thought him being melodramatic when hearing New Jersey delegate Abraham Clark’s statement as he signed the Declaration, “Let us prepare for the worst. We can die here but once.” This information about the signers is from the Constitution Society: Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists Eleven were merchants Nine were farmers and large plantation owners Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. Here is a link to an excellent video done by Paul Harvey about the signers and their fates. g PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THE FAIRTAX? Telling your friends and relatives about our new and improved FAIRtax Power Radio is a great way to help us garner more support. It is the American people who must demand REAL tax reform in Congress. We are trying our best to inform America about the FAIRtax! Please help us. Tune into our video broadcast each Wednesday. If you can’t watch live, then listen to the podcast of the show later. You can listen to FTPR on any platform - Mac or PC, iPhone or Android. And it’s 100% free. Listen on Spreaker.com (http://bit.ly/2oesbk7), iTunes (http://apple.co/1Te8VdF) or iHeart Radio (http://bit.ly/2eqEG7y) on your computer or smartphone. The easiest way to listen to FTPR on your smartphone is by downloading the free FTPR app. Just search for “FAIRtax Power Radio” in your app store, download the app and start listening. A new podcast follows the live show every Wednesday just after High Noon. Please listen and tell everyone you know about the FAIRtax Power Radio. The FAIRtax: Once You Understand It, You’ll Demand It! THE FAIRTAX BOOK FOR NEWBIES - AMERICA’S BIG SOLUTION CHAIRMAN’S REPORT– July 3, 2018 by: Steve Hayes, AFFT Chairman and President Share Tweet FACTS ABOUT THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE AND ITS SIGNERS For many Americans, July 4th has become a day off from work and an opportunity to gather with family and maybe enjoy a fireworks show. For some, there are 4th of July parades. For others, it is just an opportunity to catch up on their sleep and maybe do some chores around the house. However, in a conversation with Phil Hinson, a member of the AFFT board of directors and Vice President, we discussed how so many people seem to have forgotten the real risks and consequences faced by the 56 men signing the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Many of these men were wealthy and all were living comfortable lives. They were also intelligent men that recognized that they were advocating a rebellion against the greatest military power on earth. This was a time when traitors, and these men were considered traitors by the British, were at best imprisoned but most often just slain. These men also fully knew that they were not only risking their life and property but the welfare of their families because often their assets were also seized. They fully appreciated that the last sentence of the Declaration was more than just eloquent words. “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress, was one of the wealthiest people in the colonies. His large signature on the Declaration of Independence was his act of defiance to the British who had posted a large reward for his capture. When he signed, he commented, “The British ministry can read that name without spectacles; let them double their reward.” No delegate missed the meaning of John Hancock’s statement, “We must be unanimous; there must be no pulling different ways; we must hang together.” Nor did anyone miss the import of Benjamin Franklin’s words as he prepared to sign when he echoed the sentiments of Hancock, “We must all hang together or most assuredly we will all hang separately.” No one thought him being melodramatic when hearing New Jersey delegate Abraham Clark’s statement as he signed the Declaration, “Let us prepare for the worst. We can die here but once.” This information about the signers is from the Constitution Society: Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists Eleven were merchants Nine were farmers and large plantation owners Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. Here is a link to an excellent video done by Paul Harvey about the signers and their fates. g PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THE FAIRTAX? Telling your friends and relatives about our new and improved FAIRtax Power Radio is a great way to help us garner more support. It is the American people who must demand REAL tax reform in Congress. We are trying our best to inform America about the FAIRtax! Please help us. Tune into our video broadcast each Wednesday. If you can’t watch live, then listen to the podcast of the show later. You can listen to FTPR on any platform - Mac or PC, iPhone or Android. And it’s 100% free. Listen on Spreaker.com (http://bit.ly/2oesbk7), iTunes (http://apple.co/1Te8VdF) or iHeart Radio (http://bit.ly/2eqEG7y) on your computer or smartphone. The easiest way to listen to FTPR on your smartphone is by downloading the free FTPR app. Just search for “FAIRtax Power Radio” in your app store, download the app and start listening. A new podcast follows the live show every Wednesday just after High Noon. Please listen and tell everyone you know about the FAIRtax Power Radio. The FAIRtax: Once You Understand It, You’ll Demand It! THE FAIRTAX BOOK FOR NEWBIES - AMERICA’S BIG SOLUTION Read More.

When you hear that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is 2.9% or 1.8% you may feel that they are just numbers. In fact, the average person probably only has a vague idea of what makes up the GDP numbers we hear about in the media. Simply put, the annual GDP measures the size of the US economy – it is the market value of all goods and services produced by labor and property within a country in a year. It includes both private and public consumption, investments, government expenditure and net exports. Read More.

After the State of the Union address, we were faced with a fork in America’s path: Do we choose freedom or socialism? This week, Steve Hayes examines this choice and how the FAIRtax might just be the liberty we’re searching for. Read More.

THE IRS IS AUDITING A LOT FEWER AMERICANS–PERCENTAGE OF INDIVIDUAL TAX AUDITS FALLS TO LOWEST LEVEL SINCE 2002 Read More.

There’s a new idea floating around the Senate: Taxing an individual’s wealth, not just their income. Our Chairman, a former tax attorney, discusses this new wealth tax in this week’s Chairman’s Report. Read on! Read More.

Over the years, I have met and often been on panels with many economists—some Nobel Prize-winning economists. Almost all these men and women were personable and treated me with reasonable deference as they dismissed my arguments about the advantages of the FAIRtax over the present income/payroll tax system. Read More.

Understanding ‘swamp talk’ isn’t easy. Politicians often say one thing and do another, while families and small businesses pay the price… Read More.

Russell Long served as a U.S. Senator from 1948 until 1987 and was chairman of the Senate Finance Committee for fifteen years from 1966 to 1981. During a meeting at his Washington, D.C. office in the early 1990’s, the Senator related that during his time on the Senate Finance Committee, there was always a constant stream of lobbyists explaining why they were in favor of tax reform as long as it did not affect their client’s particular tax benefit… Read More.

In 1954, Congress enacted the clergy housing allowance which allows a church to provide a housing allowance to its minister that is not taxable as income to the minister. The Freedom From Religion Foundation website describes its purpose: “The history of Western civilization shows us that most social and moral progress has been brought about by persons free from religion. In modern times the first to speak out for prison reform, for humane treatment of the mentally ill, for abolition of capital punishment, for women’s right to vote, for death with dignity for the terminally ill, and for the right to choose contraception, sterilization and abortion have been freethinkers, just as they were the first to call for an end to slavery. The Foundation works as an umbrella for those who are free from religion and are committed to the cherished principle of separation of state and church.” Read More.

You don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone. Our current income tax system is (unfortunately) all we’ve ever known. Imagine what it would be like to eliminate it completely… along with all the complexity, confusion, and cost that comes with it. Read More.

What do the Yellow Vests protesting in France have in common with taxation in the United States? It might not be what you think… Read More.

Income taxes harming American churches? It almost happened. Here’s how we can prevent it from ever happening again. Read on. Read More.

Most people in America still believe in the basic principle that to get more of something you should reward it. We know that if children find that they can get what they want by screaming and throwing a tantrum every time someone says no, they will use screaming and tantrums as a way of addressing anything they don’t like… Read More.

FAIRtax will reduce tax evasion. Read on for insights from a tax professional on why that’s important. Read More.