FairTax - Wisconsin

Taxpayers will support a new system that is less complicated

Members of Congress love to debate taxes when they get back to Washington. They’ve done it for decades. No, they’ve done it for centuries.

It’s not that complicated when the debate surfaces in the Midland Empire. Sixth District Rep. Sam Graves sought input back in his district on the federal tax code last week. The message from home was easy to decipher.

Wendell Ford of Smithville, Mo., urged the congressman to continue his support of the consumption tax, a sweeping initiative that would, among other things, eliminate the income tax and establish a national sales tax.

“If you’re a wage earner, it makes so much sense,” Mr. Ford said.

The congressman from Tarkio, Mo., said the so-called “Fair Tax” plan, which he co-sponsored during the last session, has the most support among Republicans of any of the alternative proposals. He believes a final reform might be a hybrid of this idea.

But Mr. Graves is worried that public unease with such a far-reaching change could slow its adoption.

“You have a lot of folks that are fearful of change like that,” he said. “They know what the evil is with the income tax. They’re uncertain of what it could be with the Fair Tax.”

The general public deserves more credit.

And the more members of Congress meet with constituents the sooner those lawmakers will understand that taxpayers are ready for any change that will make our tax system less complicated.

A Fair Tax would be a bonus.