In 2013, the IRS admitted it had targeted the tax-exempt applications of certain political groups based on particular keywords in their names. Over a two-year period, investigations discovered that they spent $9.5 million in executive travel and $50 million in conferences. Current tax laws are so complex that they surpass 70,000 pages. The IRS is out of control, and our tax system is broken.
A bill known as H.R. 25 proposes tax reform through a legal and responsible alternative to the current system. Co-sponsored by 74 representatives, the bill would replace the current national income taxing system with a national consumption tax. The tax would only apply to new goods and services and not to items that have already been taxed. H.R. 25 would eliminate the current federal personal and corporate income tax, payroll taxes, the AMT, the gift tax, and the inheritance tax.
This consumption tax would eliminate the Internal Revenue Service and as a result, taxpayers would no longer fear paying taxes or being penalized for making mistakes. Every employee would receive 100 percent of their paycheck, every citizen would receive monthly cash up front so they do not pay taxes up to the poverty line, and there would no longer be tax filings or large tax bills every April.
H.R. 25 would stop all the illegal activity that isn’t currently being taxed, no longer discriminate against different taxpayers lifestyles or allow unfair loopholes for the wealthy, and it would encourage domestic and foreign corporations to invest capital tax-free in America.
Consider these implications of H.R. 25 for your business:
• You would no longer be taxed on business production, payroll, income from investments, or transferring your business upon death.
• There would be no more complex tax laws to affect your business decisions. As a business owner, you would no longer have “tax planning” to manage and minimize your tax payments to the government because only your final sales will be subject to the consumption tax.
• There would be a substantial decrease in nonproductive compliance costs. U.S. taxpayers waste an astounding $431.1 billion annually on tax compliance. Of the $431.1 billion, 88 percent is the time value costs borne by taxpayers: $161.7 billion by businesses and $216.2 billion by individuals.
• All businesses would be treated equally, and there would be no more need for non-profit/tax-exempt status.
• New goods would be taxed only once at a single tax rate; used goods would not be taxed.
For more information on the proposed consumption tax, please visit www.actforus.org.
James P. Jans, ACT for US President, is the owner of ProCFO, a CPA firm in Bend. He received his bachelor degree in Accounting, Masters in Taxation from Boise State University, and MBA from University of Washington.
Over the course of his career, he has seen the inequities our current income tax system has for his different clients. James is passionate about all Americans having a fair, transparent, and simple taxing structure best represented by H.R.25 so all can have a better life. Kelly Walker of Intrepid Marketing and Paul Ruettgers of Kinetic Branding are assisting Jans in communicating the benefits of H.R. 25.
