THE POWER TO DESTROY
Effort to dump income tax gains steam
Supporters look to have 100 House co-sponsors by July 4
Posted: March 5, 2004 - 1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Ron Strom - © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

An effort to do away with federal income tax and replace it with a national consumption tax is gaining steam, as activists strive to get at least 100 members of the House of Representatives on board by Independence Day.
"We think we'll be at 100 co-sponsors by July 4," Tom Wright, executive director of Americans for Fair Taxation, told WND.
Wright noted the House bill, H.R. 25, added its latest co-sponsor this week - Republican Rep. Barbara Cubin of Wyoming - bringing the total to 44.
"We're working with our grass-roots people across the country" to get to the goal, Wright said. H.R. 25, the Fair Tax Act, is sponsored by Rep. John Linder, R-Ga., who has sponsored similar legislation for the last several years. The latest version of the bill was introduced Jan. 7, 2003.
"The current federal income tax system is broken. Patching up the existing code is pointless. It's time for a fresh approach, a fair approach. It's time for the FairTax," says the group's website.
"From its humble beginnings, the income tax has grown like a cancer by taxing our hard work and discouraging savings and investment."
H.R. 25 would eliminate the federal income tax and replace it with a 23 percent consumption tax paid by the end user. That means business-to-business purchases for the production of goods and services would not be taxed. The organization estimates consumer prices will drop by an estimated 20-30 percent as a result of the change.
The group's website describes how the bill's rebate function works. It assures that those living in poverty would not pay any tax.
"Under the FairTax, no American will pay taxes on necessities. The rebate will be equivalent to the tax paid on essential goods and services. The rebate will be mailed before the tax is actually paid [and] will be paid in equal installments at the beginning of the month. The size of the monthly rebate will be determined by the federal poverty level for a particular household size."
Wright touted the support of the American Farm Bureau. The organization has been educating its membership on the bill, and many state chapters have given the bill legislative priority.
Dumping the income tax has become a campaign issue in many political races this year, Wright says.
"All over Texas, House candidates are supporting it," he said, mentioning races in other states as well.
Wright noted the bill's cause is helped every time Social Security reform is discussed, since, under the plan, the entitlement program would be supported by the consumption tax instead of what he calls the "regressive" Social Security tax.
Americans for Fair Taxation says the first year the plan goes into effect, revenue to the federal government would remain the same. From there, the group claims, revenue will grow due to increased economic activity.
H.R. 25 is pending in the House Ways and Means Committee and has not had a hearing. Once the sponsorship level grows to 100, however, Wright thinks Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., will take action on the bill.
The bill's Senate version is S.1493, sponsored by Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., which was introduced in July.
WND columnist Neal Boortz is a supporter of the plan. In an August column, he addressed the issue of why the idea hasn't been enacted already.
"And just why hasn't it passed?" he wrote. "Because the idea is so bold that many politicians, while personally praising the concept, just assume it can't pass.
"It can pass, my friends. It can pass if the people of America learn the details and then let their elected officials know that they want some action."