FairTax :: FAQs



	Does the FairTax affect all of those taxes on my phone bill? What is the FairTax? Will the FairTax affect my Social Security or Medicare benefits in any way? How much money will I receive each month in my prebate check? Isn’t it a big deal to tax services for the first time? It has never been done before. Why do some people say the rate is 30 percent instead of 23 percent? Does the FairTax repeal the 16th Amendment? The 23% tax rate seems too high. I just did my taxes, and after all of my deductions and exemptions, I only paid 14% of my income in taxes. Why is the FairTax a good deal for me? How can we be sure that the costs associated with the embedded taxes will disappear? How are state tax systems affected, and can states adequately collect a federal sales tax?

Find out what your state is doing to promote the FairTax:

Q:

The 23% tax rate seems too high. I just did my taxes, and after all of my deductions and exemptions, I only paid 14% of my income in taxes. Why is the FairTax a good deal for me?

A:

We get this question all of the time…and it is a good one. Sadly, it is also proof of the problem with our tax code today. The problem is that you believe that you are only paying 14% in taxes…and you have forgotten about the payroll taxes that you pay and the corporate income taxes built into the price of everything that you buy.

Remember, the FairTax is revenue neutral, which means that it is not a tax cut. The FairTax expects that as Americans we will pay just as much in taxes tomorrow as we do today. The only differences will be that (a) we’ll know how much we are paying because it will be visible and (b) we’ll free the economy from the constraints of the income tax so that a rising economic tide can lift all boats.

Let’s imagine that you earn $100,000 (the round number, while high, will make the math easier)…and imagine that after all of your deductions, exemptions and credits, your income tax bill was $14,000, or 14% of your total income. Now, remember that you also must pay 7.65% for payroll taxes, which is another $7,650. Also, remember that your employer must pay another 7.65% of your salary in payroll taxes (or, if you’re self-employed, you must pay this amount directly). That is another $7,650. Adding these amounts together, you will have paid $15,300 in payroll taxes.

Suddenly, even though you thought that you were only paying $14,000, or 14%, we now see that you’re paying $29,300, or 29%, and we haven’t even calculated the hidden taxes in the price of everything that you buy.

This is why the FairTax is a better deal for you. Today, taxes are hidden so you don’t really know how much you’re paying. Plus, today, for every dollar handed out to someone in a special tax break, tax credit, or tax exemption, the tax bill of everyone else must rise by that dollar. The FairTax will eliminate all of these special preferences, and when those who today receive those preferences start to pay more, you can begin to pay less.




	Will the FairTax affect my Social Security or Medicare benefits in any way? How much money will I receive each month in my prebate check? Why do some people say the rate is 30 percent instead of 23 percent? How much do Americans pay each year in Federal income tax compliance costs? Once the FairTax is passed and becomes law, what protection is there against a reinstitution of the income tax at a later date? Does the FairTax repeal the 16th Amendment? Is it safe to base American tax revenue on the sales tax? Isn’t consumption volatile? Isn’t it a big deal to tax services for the first time? It has never been done before. Has anything like the FairTax ever been tried before? Won’t people simply avoid the tax by trading and bartering rather than purchasing? Why is the FairTax helpful for capital formation in this country? Today, employers pay 7.65 percent of their payroll to the Federal government in a payroll tax. Do you expect that when the FairTax eliminates this tax that the employers will reduce their prices by this amount or increase wages by this amount? Does the FairTax affect all of those taxes on my phone bill? The 23% tax rate seems too high. I just did my taxes, and after all of my deductions and exemptions, I only paid 14% of my income in taxes. Why is the FairTax a good deal for me? How can we be sure that the costs associated with the embedded taxes will disappear? Right now I can deduct business lunches and other business expenses. I'm still going to have to take clients to lunch, but now I'll have to bear the entire cost. Does the FairTax have an answer to this problem? How will the FairTax affect charitable giving? How are state tax systems affected, and can states adequately collect a federal sales tax? What is FairTax.org? What is the FairTax? How would the FairTax be collected? What is taxed? What taxes does the FairTax replace? Does the FairTax rate need to be much higher to be revenue neutral?


		The GAO (Congress's auditing branch) found that all of the exemptions, exclusions, and special favors in the current tax code drain federal receipts by $728 billion each year. That is almost as much as the nation spends on Medicare and Social Security combined and 60% more than the nation spends on national defense. The FairTax eliminates all deductions, credits, and carve-outs to ensure that everyone pays his or her fair share.

Q:

The 23% tax rate seems too high. I just did my taxes, and after all of my deductions and exemptions, I only paid 14% of my income in taxes. Why is the FairTax a good deal for me?

A:

Keywords: