Is it time to end the income tax? Congressman Steve Largent thinks so and has a growing base of support that agree with him. He introduced the Tax Code Termination Act that would repeal the entire income tax code on January 1, 2002.
Lots of people are discussing whether to modify the income tax or replace it with a sales tax. Congressman Largent cuts to the key issue by establishing a "date certain" for ending the current byzantine system of tax laws. Debate will probably continue until someone forces the hand of government. Congressman Largent's bill does that.
For the first 137 years of this republic (from 1776 until 1913) there was no tax on income except for a brief period during the Civil War. The United States did just fine without an income tax, and nobody proposed one since it was prohibited by the Constitution.
What changed? Well, legislators were able to sell the American people on an income tax with the slogan "soak the rich." And when the income tax was first enacted, it exempted those in the low and middle income categories. My how the income tax has expanded today!
The median one-income family pays about one-fifth of its income in federal taxes (when you consider Social Security). By the time you add state and local taxes, the fraction rises to one third. In other words, one out of every three dollars goes to pay taxes, and the tax bite is even higher for two-income families.
Congressman Steve Largent believes it's time to end the income tax and its mind-numbing maze of rates, rules, and regulations. His bill forces the hand of government and pushes the issue of tax reform forward. I think it's time to do so.
I'm Kerby Anderson of Probe Ministries, and that's my opinion.
© 1998 Probe Ministries International