FairTax: The Truth

February 4, 2008
Claiming a growing swell of grassroots support among citizens, experts and politicians-including long-gestating bipartisan legislation in both houses-FairTax proponents Boortz and Linder reconvene (after 2005's The FairTax Book) to answer critics of their tempting solution to a Byzantium Internal Revenue Code that costs the US over $400 billion a year and works against both businesses and individuals: scrap all income, estate, corporate and payroll taxes, and substitute a national sales tax of 23 percent on all new final goods and services. Designed to be revenue-neutral and progressive, the plan takes into account the working poor with monthly rebates alongside their increased take-home pay, pegging the "regressive" label on the payroll tax, which hits hardest those least able to afford it. Boortz and Linder-a Libertarian radio show host and a Republican congressman, respectively-consider the attacks levied at the FairTax (divided into those "Worth Answering" and those "Barely Worth Dismissing") and respond snappily with considered arguments, demonstrating for instance how consumers already shoulder retail prices inflated by taxes on production and distribution. Unfortunately, the authors can get tetchy when considering the left wing. The FairTax Book generated over 1500 customer reviews on Amazon, split almost equally between five stars and one star; expect similar reactions for this follow-up.

April 14, 2008
Claiming a growing swell of grassroots support among citizens, experts and politicians-including long-gestating bipartisan legislation in both houses-FairTax proponents Boortz and Linder reconvene (after 2005's The FairTax Book) to answer critics of their tempting solution to a Byzantium Internal Revenue Code that costs the US over $400 billion a year and works against both businesses and individuals: scrap all income, estate, corporate and payroll taxes, and substitute a national sales tax of 23 percent on all new final goods and services. Designed to be revenue-neutral and progressive, the plan takes into account the working poor with monthly rebates alongside their increased take-home pay, pegging the "regressive" label on the payroll tax, which hits hardest those least able to afford it. Boortz and Linder-a Libertarian radio show host and a Republican congressman, respectively-consider the attacks levied at the FairTax (divided into those "Worth Answering" and those "Barely Worth Dismissing") and respond snappily with considered arguments, demonstrating for instance how consumers already shoulder retail prices inflated by taxes on production and distribution. Unfortunately, the authors can get tetchy when considering the left wing. The FairTax Book generated over 1500 customer reviews on Amazon, split almost equally between five stars and one star; expect similar reactions for this follow-up.

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