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 21-30 of 74

  • Darlene Shue

    07/05/2023 07:42 PM

    Absolutely right idea to tax purchases. Where do groceries fall? Only one time tax on home purchase not the annual nightmare?

  • James Henry Martin

    07/05/2023 07:39 PM

    For the bottom 60% the "payroll" tax is just loaning the money to the Government. For those who "trade" in treasury bonds it is a better deal, with interest being paid at maturity. With a national sales tax of 20%, goods would increase in price, moderating sales. I think it would be a great idea, but there are a lot of "catch 22's". I look forward to seeing what you have to say.

    Henry, in SC.
    PS, I was for you in 2016 when you had this as part of your campaign.

  • Chris Martin Hornbeck

    07/05/2023 07:22 PM

    You had me at "eliminates the IRS"

  • Lisa Chambers

    07/05/2023 05:29 PM

    Have you heard the campaign ad where Trump criticizes DeSantis for supporting a new 23% sales tax? The ad doesn't say it is the FairTax and it would eliminate the income tax. It's very misleading. Sad. I thought Trump was better than this.

  • Daniel Sia

    07/05/2023 04:59 PM

    You should find a way to make this go viral. Like, instead of the "Defund the Police" movement, I'm sure it'd be pretty simple to start a movement based upon "Abolish the IRS". Of course, I see where the difficulty lies, in that the people who could be stuffing the streets in such a movement would be more likely to be working proper jobs or running businesses...

  • Judi Hall

    07/05/2023 04:43 PM

    I would be all for it if they repeal the amendment that permits an income tax. Otherwise we will end up with both.

  • Betty Schutt

    07/05/2023 04:32 PM

    The Fair Tax Act sounds like an excellent way to put the money you earn into your pocket and the decision to buy is made with the knowledge that taxes will be paid on those purchases. Positive and responsible tax for everyone!

  • Brenda Easterling

    07/05/2023 04:26 PM

    Your fair tax sounds terrific! I think our government would never go for that because then they wouldn’t make money or have control over us. They want the United States to be a third world country where all the people are poor and starving and they don’t care. Sorry, that’s just my perspective on today’s government.

  • Warren B Howe

    07/05/2023 04:08 PM

    Mike, I have liked the idea of the "fair tax" since I first heard of it. I know that it scares the professional political class because it is manipulation of the accursed income tax with its myriad rules that keeps power localized in their hands. But it needs to happen, and soon. Thanks for publicizing it, and keep it up.

  • Carol Majewski

    07/05/2023 03:54 PM

    Governor,

    I am a senior. My only income is my SS which I don't pay taxes on. You didn't include all the seniors who are now struggling with property taxes burdening us. I don't have retirement income, investments, dividends or other property rental earnings. From what I perceive Seniors will be losers. Again we are ignored like a blight. We are petrified when a congressman or senator rails against Medicare or SS. We live with unsurety.

    "The government has to have money" ..."cover the cost of obligations we’ve made like Medicare and Social Security..." we need a fair tax to pay for SS and Medicare for the Seniors who will be subsidizing their own SS checks?

    Governor I was a single mother. The Lord and I raised four sons. I had no family help. My mother was busy with men and I never met my father. I worked three jobs to make enough money to put down on a house. I wanted a home for my sons and myself. It has been forty years and I still live in that house by God's grace. I worked.

    May I have your ear? The SS system itself needs drastically to be over-hauled. It really irks me that no one will look into the waste and fraud. I don't like to admit it but these abusers are estranged family.

    My uncle passed away in 1994. His son Bill continued to receive his SS checks. Bill had a criminal record of monetary theft from a senior. In 2015 Bill was still receiving the checks. My uncle would have been 100. I personally put in complaints with SS about the theft on 5 occasions online and by phone. I never had follow up. I wrote my congressman and senator of the subject to receive form letters. In 2020 SS finally had his death reported. Bill was pushing it at 105. Nothing was ever done for the 26 years of SS money theft by Bill.

    I have a female cousin who has 2 daughters and 5 grandchildren. They all collect SSI. One daughter received SSI because she can't work because of obesity. The one granddaughter is obese, like her mother. Three others have been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder and given Ritalin. They don't take the Ritalin. They sell it on the street. The last was told if she put herself in a mental hospital and started cutting herself she would get SSI. She did. They are abusers that know and learn the system. As soon as they turned 18 they applied knowing they will get SSI. It is too easy for fakers, drug addicts and alcoholics to get SSI. SSI is federal welfare for life! It isn't a big check but they don't care because they never have to work.

    I knew of another group of 5 people through my sister. They were both alcoholics and drug addicts. On check day they were at the bar and buying drugs. Their money was gone in no time. They all lived together. One would rent an apartment with the help of human services. . Within a few months they were evicted for not paying the rent. They would just move on to another flop house apartment. They were street smart. They got money and food from churches and the state. All of them are gone now from the drugs or the alcohol.

    What percent of SS is paid out to SSI? It is so abused. It is social federal welfare for life.

    Thank you for listening to me.

    God Bless,

    Carol Majewski
    from PA

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