Fair Tax for Indiana in 2010?

If you have been listening to the news lately I'm sure you have heard that our taxes are going to go up, on the state level and federal level. It is a crying shame that our government is broke and doesn't know how to deal with the situation, outside of raising our taxes.

I'm pretty sure most Americans see it as our duty as citizens to pay taxes. For myself, I see paying taxes as a way to contribute to a system that provides freedom. Every country has to collect taxes to keep the government running a stable. Fine. I am okay with that. But there is a threshold, a line, a point to where we are being taken advantage of and paying more for freedom and some will say were paying more taxes and getting less freedom.

For years Congress has put aside the task of reforming the tax code. It's ugly. It's big. It will, create, drama in Congress and among citizens. Our politicians don't want to be seen by their constituents as raising taxes or messing with their (the constituents) money. But that is not why we elected our congress members. We elected them to represent us, to look out for our country's interest, and to do the right thing for our country according to our Constitution and laws. If taxes are hurting our country and creating chaos in our country and our congress should be dealing with the issue. Why aren't they?

If you visit this blog frequently you will know that I support the fair tax idea. Is it perfect? Probably not. No tax law will ever be perfect for that matter. Is a good? Yes. Is it fair? I believe it is. Will it create jobs? All economists who have studied the fair tax bill say it will. Will a burden the poor? No, the fair tax will elevate them to a bit higher living standards.

There are other tax reform paths that our congress can go down to reform our tax system. But none of them are praiseworthy among the business community, citizens and politicians (party lines). What gives?

As constituents we need to step up to the plate and start thinking about our country's tax problem. The federal tax base is shrinking, thus forcing the federal government to raise taxes for those who are paying. We have more entitlements now, thus increasing taxes again. The interest on our national debt is alarming and shocking. We have to face the music and address this concern. Our mania fracturing jobs are leaving, the federal government can't tax those corporations, began to tax pool has shrunk. Our country has serious tax issues. And we the people have to fix them.

Where do we begin? How can a single mom making means meet play a role in tax reform? how can the factory worker see to it that they pay their fair share of tax and nothing more? How can grandparents have a little more peace of mind knowing that their grandchildren are going to have a better America (because the fair taxes) and what they had? The answer is simple; we vote for candidates who stand for changing the tax code. It really is that simple.

Today a ran across the candidate who supports the fair tax and I love his answer to a question that he received on his blog. Here is the source and a snippet of his response:

Recognizing that only consumers pay taxes, H.R. 25 repeals the income tax, payroll taxes, estate and gift taxes and imposes a NST on first time product and service purchases by the final customer. Business-to-business purchases are exempt from tax. Import products and services are taxed at the point of sale. Exports are not subjected to tax since they are not sold at retail in the U.S. Goods purchased abroad by consumers are taxed upon entry in the U.S. The bill also has compassion for low income persons and families. A prebate allowance is sent to each person or family which is based on Department of Health and Human Services poverty guidelines. The allowance makes the sales tax applicable only to consumption beyond the necessities of life .

The Fair Tax offers several distinct advantages over Flat Tax plans and the current progressive income tax. The founding fathers understood that taxing income punishes achievement which is why they specifically prohibited the federal government from doing so. Taxes were to be collected only on the state level and the expenses of the federal government reimbursed by each state based proportionally on population. This system reinforced states’ rights and reserved for the states the financial power as specified in the Tenth Amendment. The requirement that citizens pay taxes directly to the federal government diminishes the powers and rights guaranteed to the states by the Constitution. An additional consequence of the federal income tax is the ability of the government to use the tax code as a means of punishment and reward, usually based on a political agenda. The Fair Tax, being a tax only on consumption, takes that power away from the federal government and returns it to the consumer. This is the primary reason that Congress has not yet passed the Fair Tax – Congress will not voluntarily cede power it has usurped back to the people and the states.

If we can find more candidates (like the one above) who are willing to tackle tax reform and take a strong stand during their campaign run we can get a better tax code in place. I'm not saying we have to vote new Congress members and to support the fair tax. I respect everyone else's opinions on the other tax plans. But we have to begin voting people and who promised that they are going to tackle tax reform and make it a very high priority. Otherwise our country will continue sinking and tax problems.

If I took the time I could probably list 30 reasons why we should highly consider the fair tax plan. And maybe that would be a good post next time. For the time being I just want to say that the fair tax tackles are major tax problems and creates more transparency than ever. And citizens gain more freedom while politicians lose a little less power. And jobs, well, we'll finally start flowing into this country since the corporate tax rate drops to zero (currently at 39%, if I remember correctly).

There is a Indiana fair tax group who has been keeping track of Indiana candidate to support the fair tax. I have listed them below. If you know of other candidates to want to tackle tax reform, but not necessarily support the fair tax, please let me know - I will update this blog post accordingly.

Senate Race

Don Bates Jr http://www.donbatesjr.com/
Richard Behney http://www.richardbehney.com/
Marlin Stutzman http://www.gomarlin.com/

Congressional District races:

District 1
Mark Leyva http://www.markleyva.com/

Eric Olson
Rob Pastore http://www.robpastore4congress.com/

District 2
Jackie Walorski http://www.standwithjackie.com/

District 3
Congressman Mark Souder-Current Co-sponsor: http://www.souderforcongress.com/

District 4
Todd Rokita http://www.toddrokitaforcongress.com/
James T. Hass http://www.hassforcongress.com/Issues.html
Eric Wathen http://www.ericwathen.com/
Brandt Hershman http://www.hershman4congress.com/

District 5
Congressman Dan Burton--Current Co-sponsor http://indianadan.com/
Mike Murphy - http://www.mikemurphycongress.com/

District 6
Congressman Mike Pence- Current Co-sponsor http://www.mikepence.com/

District 7
Carlos May http://www.carlosmayforcongress.com/
Dr. Marvin Scott http://www.marvinscott.org/

District 8
Larry Bucshon http://www.bucshonforcongress.com/
Kristi Risk http://kristiriskcongress.com/
John Lee Smith http://www.johnleesmith2010.com/FairTax.htm
Dan Stockton http://www.stocktonforcongress.com/
Steve Westell http://westellforcongress.com/