Mike Huckabee's Commentary On The News

July 5, 2023
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The government has to have money to pay for the military, cover the cost of obligations we’ve made like Medicare and Social Security, and build roads, bridges, and airports.  We need some things government does so clearly there has to be a tax process.  But the one we have is a detriment to our economy.  What if there was a tax plan that was flat, fair, and family-friendly?  There is one.  It’s called the Fair Tax, and it would super-charge our economy, but it is terribly misunderstood and opponents say it would raise your taxes.  It wouldn’t.  It’s pretty simple, really.  You wouldn’t be taxed for your work, savings, inheritance, or good business decisions.  The Fair Tax would be collected at the point of purchase instead of the point of production.  The current tax system is essentially a penalty on what you produce.  We tax your work in the form of an income or payroll tax.  And if you work for someone else, your money is taxed before you even get it.   It’s taken out of your check before you even cash it.  Most people don’t have any idea how much they actually pay in taxes because they never see it.  And how nice of you to let the government take your money and use it all year interest free.  The Fair Tax is essentially a sales tax or more broadly a consumption tax.  You only pay when you purchase something that is new and hasn’t been taxed before. 

Presently we punish productivity and subsidize irresponsibility. If I invest in something that increases in value which means I made a smart investment, I pay capital gains taxes.  But if I invest in something that loses money, I can write that off of my taxes.  Get that?  Successful investments are punished; failed investments are rewarded.  Only the government could create something so absurd! 

What makes a strong economy?  Work, investments in businesses, savings—even putting aside money to leave for your family to get started with a house or a business.  And maybe saving enough to give to charity at one’s death.  But we tax all of that.  If you spend all your money on stupid stuff or just don’t work,  the government will help out with your medical bills and provide a check so you can stay home and play video games.  Now here’s a simple principle:  If there is a behavior you want more of, reward it; if there is a behavior you want less of, punish it.  That’s how we raise children and train dogs.  Do the trick and get the treat.  But our tax system is the opposite of that.  Punish productivity and reward irresponsibility.

The fair tax changes that by letting you keep the money you earn, invest or save.  It eliminates the income tax, capital gains tax, and the death tax.  You pay taxes when you buy something.  And it completely eliminates the IRS.  They would be disbanded.  Don’t want to pay as much tax? Don’t buy stuff. 

But you know who DOESN’T pay income tax, capital gains or inheritance tax like you do?  Prostitutes, pimps, drug dealers, and gamblers.  They don’t fill out forms in April and tell the government how much they made selling crack to Hunter Biden!  So you are paying YOUR taxes and theirs.  But if we paid tax when we purchased things, the prostitutes, pimps, drug dealers and gamblers would pay tax because they still buy stuff.  Sometimes lots of stuff that you can’t afford. 

The Fair Tax was created by a group of some of the most brilliant economists in the country.  They were charged with proposing the fairest and most efficient form of getting the money the government needs without creating a tax code that is so complicated even the IRS doesn’t understand it and you need accountants and lawyers just to comply with it.  With the Fair Tax, there are no tax returns.  Nothing is taken out of your check.  For most of you, for the first time in your life you’d get your entire pay check and April 15 would just be another beautiful Spring Day. 

In the coming weeks, I’ll tell you more about the Fair Tax because there are a lot of people in government who don’t want it since it takes away the power to manipulate the tax code to reward political donors and punish political enemies. I feel pretty sure I can help you understand that the system we have now needs to be thrown out and a new plan put in place that’s fair, flat, and family friendly.  And did I mention, it eliminates the IRS?

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Comments 1-10 of 74

  • Steve Smith

    07/08/2023 09:37 PM

    I love the idea of fair tax, only pay taxes on purchases. Buy a yacht pat tax buy school bus pay tax buy anything pay tax. No more accountants ,IRS, with this we can cut government by about 1/3

  • Barbara Haring

    07/08/2023 04:36 PM

    My husband and I have been strong supporters of the FairTax since we discovered the idea. I volunteered for several months in the Houston office of the FairTax and attended the convention where Herman Cain was the keynote speaker. I am looking forward to your informing people of the FairTax but you will have your work cut out for you. The biggest resistance we've run into is people don't want to give up their tax refund. We always end up paying in since my husband is self-employed and we can't do regular deductions like the IRS assumes everyone does, but some get back money they don't even put in because of child tax credits, etc. The other thing is people assume everyone gets the mortgage deduction but most people don't itemize so they don't. So the real estate people aren't on board. We've also encountered the fear that we will end up with both a sales and an income tax. They don't understand the consumption tax and only on new goods. They think of it as a sales tax or a VAT because the other sounds too good to be true and the government won't agree to that. Most don't do their own taxes so they don't even realize if they do itemize they've lost many deductions and some are only percentages now rather than off-the-top like they used to be for my parents. Plus they don't watch the basic deduction that changes constantly - under the radar. They also think a flat tax would be better. They don't understand the behemoth we have today was once a flat tax and then only on the rich. They need to know the history of the income tax. And don't leave out the part where even Congress didn't think it could pass. It was a fluke. Usually I did our taxes using TurboTax. I have no accounting experience so when we had capital gains last year we had to hire a CPA. So not only did we have to pay a chunk in taxes, we had to pay almost $1000 to comply. As I said, you have your work cut out for you but know we've got your back.

  • Delores Hepler

    07/08/2023 11:29 AM

    There was no tax on personal income and no IRS in the original Constitution. Everything went well but the government decided they wanted more power thus they started taxing income.

  • Judy Rouse

    07/07/2023 12:11 PM

    LOVE the idea of the Fair Tax....EVERYBODY PAYS. I agree that the IRS has too much power, is an expensive and complicated institution to run, creates too much fear and intimidation among tax paying citizens, and has been weaponized. I agree with you that a sales tax (Fair Tax) is a win-win for everyone except many of the self-serving ("get me re-elected at any cost") elected officials. Thank you for explaining the PROS and ..... (wait, there are no cons) of the Fair Tax . God Bless You.

  • Ed Thompson

    07/07/2023 09:19 AM

    Isn’t this what Canada does? Or does partly to raise the necessary amount of money needed to keep its government running? My concern would be that the lowest income households will have to spend more on necessary items like groceries and other daily expenses due to everyone pays the same idea and those people will forgo some everyday items due to higher prices. On face value it sounds like a good idea but if it happens there’s a lot of tweaks to make sure certain elements of society don’t fall through the cracks. Getting rid of the old system could be a great way to ensure a more fair distribution of income for all. The cheaters will be the ones who cry the most if it’s done right. Good concept, hope it can be done correctly if it’s done. Would love to say goodbye to the old IRS! That would save us a few bucks too even though everyone there would have to go to the unemployment office! Oh well! Maybe then they will understand how some people feel when it happens to them!

  • Linda Cholcher

    07/07/2023 12:38 AM

    I agree we need to throw out our current tax system. A flat tax or a VAT tax can still be very hard on those with minimum income. So, a base level needs to be considered or not taxing certain items like food staples.

  • Warren Anderson

    07/06/2023 04:42 PM

    I read the Linder/Bortz book years ago and talked it up to my family, friends and neighbors. The hardest thing to explain is the absence of production taxes, FICA and the creation of the PREBATE. Also there is no tax when used material or equipment is purchased. Also, the mechanism for collection already exists. I hope you are successful in promoting the program.

    Come to think of it, the next project will be privatizing Social Security.

  • Jim Knowlton

    07/06/2023 02:45 PM

    You didn't mention the prebate, the monthly check to citizens. That is still part of the Fairtax isn't it? Receiving money from the government appeals to lot of folks.

  • Jay Brick

    07/06/2023 01:39 PM

    Simplified, this would mean $5.5 trillion needing to be collected on point-of-purchase transactions -- a federal sales tax.
    This computes to approximately $17,000 yearly for every human living in America (save for little children)...$1,400 (+-) a month.

    That's A LOT of $$$ per person.
    What're your age categories? What about corporate taxes? What about the other federal taxes such as gas taxes?

    What about state and local taxes, including real estate taxes?

  • Mary Frances Barwick

    07/06/2023 01:30 PM

    Love it! Tell us more!!

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