Book Review: The FairTax Book

Are you one of those people who believe the 'Top 1 Percent' richest people aren't paying their fair share of taxes? Do you think your own tax rate is too high? Most people aren't even aware what their own tax rate actually is. The true number is hidden in a withholding system that takes a significant chunk of your check every pay period.

Then there's the issue of the time and money involved of filing your tax forms. The IRS tax code is so complicated that not one single employee of the IRS understands it completely. Not one. And the total cost to taxpayers - individuals and corporations - of filing exceeds $200 billion a year in time and expense.

Now, I'm not one to advocate eliminating taxes entirely. I realize there's a cost to having a federal government that oversees our national security and general welfare. What I do think we need is a simpler system. And I just found out there is. It's called The FairTax.

Talk show host Neal Boortz and congressman John Linder wrote a book explaining how the system works. Essentially, it's a consumption tax that would replace the federal income tax. It's important to stress the word 'replace' as many opponents of the FairTax have misrepresented it as an additional tax.

The part I really like about having a consumption tax rather than an income tax is that it means everyone pays their fair share, as there would be no exemptions. Off-shore tax shelters would be entirely eliminated and no loopholes would help the tax-savvy to evade paying into the system. In fact, every person in the United States becomes a taxpayer, including illegal aliens and foreign visitors. The FairTax system adds millions of people to the tax system literally overnight. And those millions of people will add BILLIONS of dollars. Now that's what I call a fair tax system.

But don't take my word for it. Read the book.