Replace the income tax with a fair tax

I heard a radio talk-show host talking about an idea that I initially thought was so off the wall as to be ludicrous. He was urging his listeners to buy a book and, intrigued, I did. The book is by Neal Boortz, congressman John Linder (R-Ga.) and Rob Woodall, and is called "FairTax: The Truth." It is their second book and was written to answer criticisms that arose from the first book which had become No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list in 2005.

It proposes that the federal income tax be abolished, in favor of a tax based on consumption. It would not increase the price of goods, the seller would merely forward to the government a percentage of the sale price. Since businesses would no longer pay income tax and would no longer incur the cost of complying with IRS rules, the saved money would be sent in, the amount of which has been calculated to be 23 percent.

No one would escape. For instance, drug-dealer profits and foreign tourist dollars would generate revenue. Also, it would abolish a system which is used by politicians to reward or punish segments of society and to these ends has been amended 16,000 times in the past 20 years. Social Security and Medicare would no longer be faced with bankruptcy and salaries and wages would increase significantly due to no more withholding . With commensurate increases in consumption and saving, with no more corporate and capital gains taxes, businesses would return from foreign countries and new businesses would be attracted from other countries.

In 1999, Rep. Linder sponsored a bill in the legislature, now known as H.R. 25, which would eliminate the income tax, with a companion bill in the Senate, S. 1025. These bills have picked up 69 sponsors in the House and five in the Senate.

I urge everyone to read the book(s) and to go online to www.fairtax.org to learn more about the Fair Tax.

Don Buck

Wheaton