Let's Kill the Income Tax

What we have now is a mess. And it continues to get worse. Today's income tax system can't be understood without a PhD in accounting.

A flat income tax rate for everyone would be better the current mess, but abolishing the income tax altogether would be better yet.

Anyone who fills out their own tax forms every year (as I do) can tell you that the current system is a lot more complicated than it should be. Page after page of special cases (for special interests) are intended to buy votes, and it only gets worse each year. Every politician running for office wants "fairer taxes", but not everyone wants simpler taxes. Common sense dictates that a tax has to be simple to be fair. If no one can even understand the tax system, no one can determine if it's fair. Thus, the current system is definitely unfair. Let's throw the whole thing out!

I'm not proposing anarchy. The government can still collect taxes: sales taxes. Now, the first criticism is always, "poor people will starve." Well, that's why the smart folks at FairTax recommend a monthly rebate equivalent to the taxes paid on essential goods.

From the FairTax FAQ:

All valid Social Security cardholders who are U.S. residents receive a monthly rebate equivalent to the FairTax paid on essential goods and services, also known as the poverty level expenditures. The rebate is paid in advance, in equal installments each month.

What I think is most appealing about the idea of abolishing the income tax is that successful people won't be punished for earning more money. No one will be bumped into a higher tax bracket because they're working too hard at the office. With a sales tax, you choose how much tax you pay. If you buy more expensive toys (as wealthy people reported do), you pay more in taxes. If America was founded on the principal of freedom for the individual (and that's what makes America strong), then replacing the income tax with a sales tax is clearly the right decision for our nation.