Americans For Fair Taxation
Overview
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' largest, single-issue grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
organization
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
and taxpayers union
Taxpayer groups
Taxpayer groups, also known as taxpayers union, are formal nonprofit or informal advocacy groups that promote lower taxation, reductions in government spending, and limits to government debt. Many United States cities and countries have taxpayer groups...
dedicated to fundamental tax code replacement. The Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
-based non-partisan political advocacy group
Advocacy group
Advocacy groups use various forms of advocacy to influence public opinion and/or policy; they have played and continue to play an important part in the development of political and social systems...
is made up of volunteers who are working to get the Fair Tax Act
FairTax
The FairTax is a tax reform proposal for the federal government of the United States that would replace all federal taxes on personal and corporate income with a single broad national consumption tax on retail sales. The Fair Tax Act would apply a tax once at the point of purchase on all new goods...
(/) enacted in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
; a plan to replace all federal payroll
Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax
Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax is a United States payroll tax imposed by the federal government on both employees and employers to fund Social Security and Medicare —federal programs that provide benefits for retirees, the disabled, and children of deceased workers...
and income taxes
Income tax in the United States
In the United States, a tax is imposed on income by the Federal, most states, and many local governments. The income tax is determined by applying a tax rate, which may increase as income increases, to taxable income as defined. Individuals and corporations are directly taxable, and estates and...
(both corporate and personal) with a national retail sales tax
Sales tax
A sales tax is a tax, usually paid by the consumer at the point of purchase, itemized separately from the base price, for certain goods and services. The tax amount is usually calculated by applying a percentage rate to the taxable price of a sale....
and monthly tax "prebate" to household
Household
The household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....
s of citizens and legal resident aliens.
Unanswered Questions
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' largest, single-issue grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
organization
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
and taxpayers union
Taxpayer groups
Taxpayer groups, also known as taxpayers union, are formal nonprofit or informal advocacy groups that promote lower taxation, reductions in government spending, and limits to government debt. Many United States cities and countries have taxpayer groups...
dedicated to fundamental tax code replacement. The Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
-based non-partisan political advocacy group
Advocacy group
Advocacy groups use various forms of advocacy to influence public opinion and/or policy; they have played and continue to play an important part in the development of political and social systems...
is made up of volunteers who are working to get the Fair Tax Act
FairTax
The FairTax is a tax reform proposal for the federal government of the United States that would replace all federal taxes on personal and corporate income with a single broad national consumption tax on retail sales. The Fair Tax Act would apply a tax once at the point of purchase on all new goods...
(/) enacted in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
; a plan to replace all federal payroll
Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax
Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax is a United States payroll tax imposed by the federal government on both employees and employers to fund Social Security and Medicare —federal programs that provide benefits for retirees, the disabled, and children of deceased workers...
and income taxes
Income tax in the United States
In the United States, a tax is imposed on income by the Federal, most states, and many local governments. The income tax is determined by applying a tax rate, which may increase as income increases, to taxable income as defined. Individuals and corporations are directly taxable, and estates and...
(both corporate and personal) with a national retail sales tax
Sales tax
A sales tax is a tax, usually paid by the consumer at the point of purchase, itemized separately from the base price, for certain goods and services. The tax amount is usually calculated by applying a percentage rate to the taxable price of a sale....
and monthly tax "prebate" to household
Household
The household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....
s of citizens and legal resident aliens. Americans for Fair Taxation state they subscribe to the ideals of simplicity, fairness, and freedom which they believe are embodied in the FairTax. The organization claims to have signed up over 800,000 supporters.
History
Robert C. McNair
Robert C. McNair is an American businessman, philanthropist, and the owner of the National Football League team, the Houston Texans in Houston, Texas.-Early life and education:...
, and Leo Linbeck, who each pledged $1.5 million as seed money to hire tax experts to identify what they perceived as faults with the current tax system, to determine what American citizens would like to see in tax reform, and then to design the best system of taxation. The three went on to raise an additional $17 million to fund focus groups with citizens around the country and tax policy studies.
Some of the experts funded include:
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Criticisms
Some have criticized Americans For Fair Taxation for the way that they present the FairTax plan. The most common critique is the presented FairTax rate of a 23% sales tax on the total transaction value of new retail goods and services purchases; consumers pay to the government 23 cents of every dollar spent (sometimes called tax inclusive). However, American sales taxes have historically been expressed as a percentage of the original sale price (sometimes called tax exclusive) or a 30% FairTax rate; items priced at $100 pre-tax cost $130 with the tax added. The use of the tax inclusive number in presenting the rate has been criticized as deceptive and by some as a "lie". However, AFFT argues that the 23% number represents a better comparison to income tax rates. If you are in a 25% income tax bracket, you will pay $25 in federal income taxes out every $100 you earn. With the 23% FairTax, you would pay $23 in taxes out of every $100 you spend. This is also how the legislation is written - as an inclusive tax.Bruce Bartlett
Bruce Bartlett
Bruce Bartlett is an American historian who turned to writing about supply-side economics. He was a domestic policy adviser to President Ronald Reagan and was a Treasury official under President George H.W. Bush....
has charged that the FairTax was originally devised by the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
in the early 1990s as a way to get rid of the Internal Revenue Service. Representative John Linder
John Linder
John Elmer Linder is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1993 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party.Linder announced that he would retire from Congress at the end of the 111th Congress....
told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Bartlett confused the FairTax movement with the Scientology-affiliated Citizens for an Alternative Tax System
Citizens for an Alternative Tax System
Citizens for an Alternative Tax System is a national tax reform public interest group in the United States. Their Las Vegas chapter proposes, "...that Congress should eliminate the IRS and all income taxes, corporate and personal; estate, gift and inheritance taxes, plus many excise taxes;...
. Leo Linbeck, AFFT Chairman and CEO, stated "As a founder of Americans For Fair Taxation, I can state categorically, however, that Scientology played no role in the founding, research or crafting of the legislation giving expression to the FairTax."
See also
- FairTaxFairTaxThe FairTax is a tax reform proposal for the federal government of the United States that would replace all federal taxes on personal and corporate income with a single broad national consumption tax on retail sales. The Fair Tax Act would apply a tax once at the point of purchase on all new goods...
- Americans for Tax ReformAmericans for Tax ReformAmericans for Tax Reform is an advocacy group and taxpayer group whose stated goal is "a system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today. The government's power to control one's life derives from its power to tax...
- Citizens for an Alternative Tax SystemCitizens for an Alternative Tax SystemCitizens for an Alternative Tax System is a national tax reform public interest group in the United States. Their Las Vegas chapter proposes, "...that Congress should eliminate the IRS and all income taxes, corporate and personal; estate, gift and inheritance taxes, plus many excise taxes;...
- Citizens for Tax JusticeCitizens for Tax JusticeCitizens for Tax Justice is a non-profit research and advocacy think tank based in Washington, DC. CTJ’s work focuses primarily on federal tax policy...
- National Taxpayers UnionNational Taxpayers UnionNational Taxpayers Union is a taxpayers advocacy organization and taxpayers union in the United States, founded in 1969 by James Dale Davidson. NTU advertises that it is the largest and oldest grassroots taxpayer organization in the nation, with 362,000 members nationwide. It is closely...
- Tax FoundationTax FoundationThe Tax Foundation is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank founded in 1937 that collects data and publishes research studies on tax policies at the federal and state levels. The organization is broken into three primary areas of research which are the Center for Federal Fiscal Policy, The and the...
- James M. BennettJames M. BennettJames M. Bennett is a New Jersey-based nonpartisan activist for FairTax, a tax reform strategy in the United States which would replace the Internal Revenue Service with a tax on consumption. He promotes FairTax on newsradio talk programs and television shows. He speaks at workshops and manages an...