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Republicans in Congress are stunned that the Fairness Tax, a proposal to replace the federal income tax with a 30% sales tax, is under attack now that it is being considered at the request of a Georgia congressman. not. It has long been known that simply voicing potential support for a fair tax, let alone bringing legislation to a vote, can expose lawmakers and candidates to attack.
The fact that a fair tax disproportionately harms retirees living on a fixed income is just one reason Republicans won’t pass a fair tax this year, and it may not even get a vote on the floor of the House. Just one of the reasons. The pitfalls of fair taxes, both from a policy and political perspective, have been apparent for more than a decade.
“At every election, candidates who endorse (or say good things about) the FAIR tax are attacked and put on the defensive,” economist Dan Mitchell noted in 2010. I emphasized how political toxicity doesn’t matter. new revelation. “Many tax reform candidates have lost elections in favorable states and districts largely because their opponents have successfully demagogued them against the national sales tax.”
Mitchell wasn’t the only one to warn about the dangers of supporting fair taxes. The dangers of supporting a fair tax were also documented by the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal in the same year Mitchell published the aforementioned view.
A 2010 editorial in The Wall Street Journal noted, “In 16 House elections and three Senate elections so far, Democrats have accused Republican candidates of expressing interest in the FAIR tax. I am criticizing it at this point,” he said. “FAIR tax proponents are right to say that these Democrat attacks are unjustified and don’t mention the tax-cutting aspect of the proposal, but the attacks appear to be working.”
Some who failed to heed these warnings in the subsequent election cycle have suffered the consequences. I broke it by a wide margin and found this hand for the first time.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ran an election cycle television commercial telling voters in South Carolina’s First Congressional District: family groceries. medical procedure. Prescription drugs for the elderly. Mace’s plans strain everything. twenty-three percent
Fair tax advocates need not be discouraged simply because Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.)’s Fair Tax bill won’t pass the Republican-led House of Representatives. There are cases where fair tax advocates are winning, but those victories are coming at the state level. There, legislators and governors have made great strides in the past decade moving away from income taxes as a way to fund government.
Governors and legislators in more than 20 states have lowered personal income tax rates in the last two years alone. Earlier this year, income tax rate cuts were implemented in Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, South Carolina, and North Carolina. In fact, the average state income tax rate has declined in recent years and will continue to do so.
The state’s average personal income tax rate has declined in recent years and is expected to continue to decline. … [+]
Following recent reductions in state income tax rates and overall tax burden, many state legislators and governors are aiming to further reduce income tax rates and repeal tax reform in 2023. . In Arkansas, for example, Governor Sarah Sanders said her goal was to phase out the state’s income tax. West Her Virginia legislators passed a significant income tax cut in mid-January. Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader LeMaheiu said he is proposing a flat income tax of 3.25% in stages over four years. North Carolina Senate Speaker Phil Berger said he wants North Carolina’s income tax rate to drop to 2.5%, similar to Arizona’s. Even in Arizona, lawmakers are going to cut her new flat tax of 2.5% in 2023, the lowest flat income tax rate in the nation.
New Hampshire will become the ninth non-income tax state by the end of this year. Granite states do not tax wage income, but do tax dividends and interest income. But New Hampshire’s investment income tax will be phased out by the end of his 2026, thanks to a budget signed by Gov. Sununu two years ago.
The New Hampshire Legislature is currently pushing forward with a proposal to speed up the elimination of that tax. If House Bill 100 is enacted, the investment income tax will be abolished by the end of this year. Once New Hampshire’s investment income tax is eliminated, New Hampshire will become her ninth true no-income tax state and her ninth with a virtually fair tax. This, combined with the Tennessee legislator’s repeal of his investment income tax in 2021, represents a 28% increase in the number of true non-income tax states over the past few years alone.
When it comes to the fair tax debate that is currently rattling Washington, it could all stem from inaccurate reporting or a simple misunderstanding in the fog of the late-night Presidency vote. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer lashed out at what he called the “Republican National Sales Tax” at a Jan. 24 press conference. But a report released just hours before Schumer’s remarks calls into question whether the fair tax was really part of the deal that secured Kevin McCarthy’s speaker.
“I was told that this was part of the negotiations and would be brought to the floor for a vote,” Rep. Buddy Carter told reporters. The HillCarter added that McCarthy made no promises regarding the vote on fair taxes.
House Speaker McCarthy said in recent comments that a vote on the floor on a fair tax is not imminent and Rep. Carter’s bill would follow the normal order, meaning it would have to be considered by the committee first. . “He is everything [Congressman Buddy Carter] House Speaker McCarthy told Larry Kudrow in an interview on Jan. 24. “For a bill to enter the House, it has to pass through the committee.”
When asked by a CNN reporter on the night of January 24 whether he supported a fair tax, Speaker of the House McCarthy said: responded With a clear and simple “no”.
Many fair tax advocates would be upset if the fair tax bill were ultimately defeated in Congress, whether on committee or on the floor of the House. But rather than be discouraged, fair tax enthusiasts can consider moving to state-level developments and focusing on state capitals. The obstacles to federal adoption of a flat tax seem insurmountable, not only for political reasons, but also for policy reasons. However, states are not only able to adopt the conversion of Fair Tax to a sales tax base, they are happening.
