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On Taxes, Huckabee Leads
in response to reader comment: Mike Huckabee's Fair Tax reform issue

Submitted by Jeff Gillingham, Dec 8, 2007 18:09

Sir,

I am also a Texan (by way of UT Austin) and am a large supporter of Mr. Huckabee and his fair tax proposal, as well as the no-income tax policy of the state of Texas. I don't mind an extra little bit of tax on goods I purchase - I much prefer it to spending time filling out a state income tax return (and I'm not making interest free loans to Texas by way of withholdings).

Your calculation of the fair tax is incorrect though - it is actually a 30% charge on the price of the good - not 23%. I believe this is misleading and has been a major criticism used by opponents of the fair tax. I wish fairtax.org would change their calculation method. The $1 good becomes $0.78 after the removal of imbedded tax, then the 30% tax is put on top of that price, making it $1.01. Fair taxers call it a 23% sales tax because .23 (1.01 - .78) is approximately 23% of 1.01.

As a master's student of accounting at UT Austin, I am amazed at how complex the federal government has made the tax system. I spend tens of hours researching and writing each tax memorandum for my tax research classes, and believe it is all a big waste of time (and my tuition). If fair tax passes, it will save American's approximately 6 billion hours per year preparing their federal income tax returns, rid ethical American's of bearing the brunt of nearly $290 billion of tax evaded dollars, save corporate America billions of dollars in professional tax service fees (meaning lower costs for you and I), rid ourselves of the $10 billion a year IRS (which will be replaced by a smaller monitoring agency to ensure corporations are collecting taxes on sales), and give all Americans, young and old, a major incentive to save and invest for their future wants or needs (ie. education, a home, a vacation) because they won't have to file tax returns.

-Jeff G

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Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
I hope the FAIRTAX passes. It will be laughed at for 100 years. What research was done on it? Did... [MORE]	Mark Douglas	Jan 13, 2008 11:31
When I first heard about the fairtax, I shared the same concerns as you, until I went to fairtax.org and... [MORE]	Doug	Jan 17, 2008 10:57
What research. I read the book. I looked at all the material I could. I didnt see ANY research. WHy?... [MORE]	Mark	Jan 17, 2008 22:43
ron paul wants to get rid of the irs ,can it be any better than that!!!!!ron paul wants enforce the... [MORE]	the truth is good	Dec 12, 2007 11:00
I wish to commend your paper for being the first I have seen to make fair and balanced comments on... [MORE]	Jim Bennett	Dec 7, 2007 18:28
The Fair Tax is a horrible compromise. It does nothing to decrease government spending, hurts the middle class, benefits the... [MORE]	Paul Weber	Dec 8, 2007 01:22
Paul, I partially agree with your first comment that the Fair Tax does nothing for spending. However when the cost of... [MORE]	Jim Bennett	Dec 8, 2007 07:48
It is without a doubt the most refreshing and principled stand by a Presidential candidate that I have ever witnessed... [MORE]	Jeffrey Locke	Dec 7, 2007 18:12
I have this to say in defense of the FAIR TAX, HR 25 / S 1025............................Mike Huckabee's Fair Tax that... [MORE]	John Paul McDaniel	Dec 7, 2007 17:22
Sir, I am also a Texan (by way of UT Austin) and am a large supporter of Mr. Huckabee and his...	Jeff Gillingham	Dec 8, 2007 18:09
Too much is made of the way the actual cost of the tax is figured. It basically all comes out... [MORE]	Jeff Wangsgard	Dec 9, 2007 12:33
When business buy supplies to produce their product or service, they pay no fairtax, thus lowering the cost they Fairtax... [MORE]	Jack Metzel	Dec 13, 2007 16:15
Look at page 148 of the Fair Tax book. It says the government "is itself a major taxpayer" and that... [MORE]	Mark	Jan 17, 2008 22:38
Don't trust him, he's a populist wacko [MORE]	Jonas	Dec 7, 2007 15:38
The FairTax is nothing more than a plan for a huge shift of the tax burden from the wealthiest to... [MORE]	FairTaxFraud	Dec 7, 2007 12:17
Can any one who has truthfully studied the FairTax....even with the few flaws it has...honestley say that keeping the system... [MORE]	Jeff Wangsgard	Dec 8, 2007 10:57
I wish fairtaxfraud had listed just what his vested interest in the current tax system is. Those with something to... [MORE]	Tom Kropewnicki	Dec 9, 2007 11:39
David Trueck's article is absolutely on point. One can only hope that smart voters will reward Governor Huckabee for having... [MORE]	Dan Mastromarco	Dec 7, 2007 11:38
Wow, I hardly know what to say. As a FairTax proponent I have spent the last couple of weeks playing... [MORE]	David Boone	Dec 7, 2007 17:24
The Club for Growth (Club for Greed) would have ran negative ads against Ronald Reagan - Mike Huckabee is the candidate... [MORE]	Liz	Dec 7, 2007 08:37