NYC family business at risk of closing after 130 years due to high taxes
Small business owner Erik Frankel says his family shoe store has just 'months' left as high property taxes and competition from corporations make turning a profit nearly impossible.
Our current tax code is built on government control. It’s a convoluted, absurd system that punishes hard work. That’s why some 85% of Americans are frustrated by its complexity and only two-in-ten Americans say they trust the government in Washington to do what is right with their hard-earned money.
The current tax code is not working for Americans, and they are hungry for something that serves them. It’s time for a new system built on freedom. It’s time for the FairTax.
H.R. 25, the FairTax, would eliminate the federal income, payroll, and estate and gift taxes, replacing them with a revenue-neutral national 23% consumption tax. It would eliminate the need for the IRS. It would eliminate Tax Day. It would allow you to take home 100% of your paycheck so that you control where your hard-earned dollars go.
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The best part is that you don’t need a law degree or CPA license to understand it; for every $1 you pay for a new good or service, 23 cents will go to the federal government and 77 cents to the business. It's simple, fair, preferred, and reputable economists have acknowledged this proposal’s transparency and ability to produce growth.
FILE – March 22, 2013: Shows the exterior of the Internal Revenue Service building in Washington. (AP)
Skeptics point out that a 23% consumption tax sounds like a lot, and it is. But what many consumers fail to realize is that today’s sticker prices are already inflated to cover corporation’s tax burdens. Every tax imposed on businesses – whether it is corporate, FICA, or other taxes – is passed down to the consumer. You’re already paying taxes every time you purchase a good or service. Under the FairTax, only paying yours, not anyone else’s.
That doesn’t just apply to corporations, either; this proposal captures the tax dollars of people living in the United States illegally, tourists, and anyone participating in the underground economy, people who are currently subsidized by the tax dollars of those legally working and paying taxes in the United States.
Unsurprisingly, Washington Democrats have wasted no time fearmongering about the FairTax.
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They claim this will disproportionately impact the lowest income earners. That claim is false. The FairTax includes an advance tax refund to every legal American family at the beginning of every month to purchase goods and services tax free up to the national poverty level. This means a family of four can spend $30,000 a year without paying a penny in taxes. That’s an effective tax rate of 0%.
There is no other serious proposal that would overhaul the largest and most regressive tax the majority of Americans pay, the payroll tax, while making the United States the most competitive place in the world to do business. FairTax checks every box and principle we have as Americans, regardless of what side of aisle you are on.
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Simply put, this proposal will save taxpayers time, money, and headaches while incentivizing smart financial decision making and maintaining the tax revenue needed for the government to run smoothly. But there’s a larger conversation to have here that goes beyond numbers and bottom lines.
Our Constitution begins with "We the People," but our current tax code might as well begin with "We the Government."
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The FairTax provides freedom to choose when you pay your taxes and how much you spend. Instead of taking from every single dollar you earn, you’re only paying taxes on the money you spend, leaving more room for paying down debt, retirement, college, savings, and more.
Not only does this proposal provide the freedom to choose, but it also provides freedom from government intrusion. Armed, unelected bureaucrats currently have more control over your paycheck than you do. That’s not the type of freedom America was built on; in fact, it’s exactly the type of tyranny our nation was built to escape.
Does overturning an entrenched tax code with thousands of special interests invested in keeping their carve-outs pose significant challenges? Yes. Is this a big, radical idea? Absolutely. However, I did not come to Congress to satisfy special interests or maintain the status quo.
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I was sent to Congress to fight for taxpayers, small business owners, mothers, fathers, students, truck drivers, and everyone that keeps our great country running. The FairTax puts their interests first.
The only people with something to lose are those who gained their power and money on the back of this convoluted, broken system. Let’s make this Tax Day our last.
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