FairTax would be true stimulus

Numerous surveys have questioned people about what percentage of their income would be fair for the federal government to tax. Had we been asked, we would have responded with a vigorous 0 percent. Instead of taxing our earnings and savings, tax our spending. Both the state and national versions of the FairTax do just that.

The FairTax is the only legislation to completely untax poor and struggling workers. Employees and retirees keep their entire paychecks or pensions and decide how much tax to pay by choosing where to shop and whether to buy new or recycled items. New products and certain services are taxed without raising the final ticket price because corporate taxes are eliminated.

At the federal level the FairTax eliminates income, capital gains, Social Security, self-employment and gift and estate taxes while making Medicare and Social Security solvent once again. The underground economy, estimated to exceed $1 trillion annually, becomes taxed by virtue of the taxes paid on dining out, purchasing fancy vehicles and luxury items, vacationing and partying. Tourists also contribute to our new FairTax system. Economists who designed the FairTax assert this to be a true stimulus to our economy, creating jobs and attracting businesses home to the U.S. and to Missouri.

The FairTax is not a value-added tax. The FairTax replaces income taxation with a consumption tax on new purchases. The VAT would be a consumption tax in addition to our income taxes. How can we afford to not support the FairTax?

CHARLES and MARY ANN COATNEY, Moberly, Mo.