Tax The Goods, Not The Income

Imagine living in a world with no income tax; an America where each and every citizen takes home 100% of what he or she earns each week; a land where the individuals are taxed on what they choose to buy and not what the government chooses to take. This could all happen, virtually overnight, if the Washington elites would only let it. With responsible Congressional leadership, the federal income tax could be completely dissolved and replaced with a flat-rated federal sales tax. This tax of six to seven percent on all new, manufactured goods and services, would generate the same, if not more revenue for the federal government than our current, convoluted system. Take into account that all people in America, legal or illegal, resident or tourist, would then be paying their fair share of tax and the positive potential of revenue for the nation is remarkable. Once the federal government initiates such changes the states will surely follow, leaving the American public with a truly tax-free paycheck. While it is true that in states such as New York, with high sales tax rates already in place, consumers may have to pay as high as 15% on purchases; it is also true that these people will have more money to spend to begin with, leaving them at liberty to choose how to spend it.
Under this “fair tax” system, individuals who earn less will spend less and therefore, pay less in taxes. Inversely, individuals who earn more will spend more and hence, pay more in taxes. It’s that simple and it’s as fair and American in principle as a tax system can be. Upon enactment, this fair tax would transform America from the government-run economy that it currently is, into the consumer-based, super-capitalism of which it was always intended to be. With businesses no longer being taxed to compensate employees and investors no longer punished for commercial success, our economy will, once again, be free to thrive. This, of course, will result in expanded job creation, an increased GDP, and with that, more federal revenue.
No longer will politicians attack American business in endless attempts to ignite public passions. Their political fates and the success of private enterprise will now be intertwined. All political parties will seek to foster private sector growth, due to their respective links in prosperity. For the first time in over a century, what will be good for the people will be good for the politicians. The concept of representative republicanism will, once again, thrive in America.
The American people have been inundated for so long with the concept of government levies and redistribution of their hard-earned pay that, to many, it seems natural. But it should always be remembered that there is something inherently wrong with one group of people taking the bread earned from the sweat of another group’s brow and arbitrarily mandating its allocation. The American system of government is based on individual liberties and freedoms of commerce. Our practice of taxing the peoples’ incomes denies them these liberties and impedes their commercial success. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that “America is the country of the future. It is a country of beginnings, of projects, of vast designs and expectations.” If the government would just remove the economic shackles from the American workers, investors and entrepreneurs, it could reinvent our economy and bring back the America of Mr. Emerson’s day. A consumer based, flat rated tax is the nation’s best chance to achieve this. No longer would the will of the public be disregarded due to conflicts of rival parties. Our politicians would be held directly accountable for their actions and an American economy, driven by a free and open market, could once again flourish.

Jeremy Pitcoff
Smithtown Republican Committeeman