The Income Tax: Revenue Raiser or Tool of Tyrants

Relatively few people realize that for much of our history, the income tax did not exist. Our Nation was

founded, grew, and become a major world power, all without having any form of individual or corporate

income taxation. In fact, it wasn’t until the late 1800s, and the development of the Progressive-Marxist

movement, that a progressive income tax became established in academic thought. And it took until

1913 for American Progressives to engineer an amendment to the US Constitution, legalize the income

tax, and begin the systemic extraction of wealth from American citizens.

While the income tax was relatively benign in its infancy, imposing only a 7% tax on the very wealthy, it

has grown steadily over the last 100 years. But even more importantly, it has morphed from a simple

means of raising necessary funds to support the functioning of government, to a tool of social engineering

and political repression. Particularly since the 1960s, the tax code has been increasingly used as a

means of repressing, or encouraging, selected public behaviors. From sin taxes on substances that we

know are not good for us, like alcohol and tobacco, to higher taxes on certain vehicles because they are

not favored by the mavens of the EPA, the tax code is being used to repress behaviors that government,

or special interests, don’t want to see.

Conversely, the income tax code is used to promote favored policies, industries, or programs, such as

“green energy” through the use of tax breaks and grants using monies extracted via the tax code.

President Obama himself has been explicit in his intention to use the tax code to bankrupt the coal

industry, raise the price of energy to European levels to promote favored industries, and take the wealth

accumulated by some segments of society and give it to special interests, supporters, and favored

programs.  And one need only look to the slowly crumbling societies of Europe to realize the eventual failure of such

policies.

But the FairTax would put an end to this hundred year old travesty. Instead of a tax code that allows

corrupt politicians to manipulate the tax code in return for campaign contributions, the FairTax is simple,

transparent, and applied equitably on all. Instead of a tax code that serves as a tool of divisive

government, partisan politics, and political patronage, the FairTax favors no one, treats the poor as fairly

as the rich, and strips members of Congress of both the power and opportunity to sell themselves to

Lobbyists and Special Interests. Instead of a tax code that serves as a tool of tyranny used to bankrupt

those who fall out of political favor, the FairTax would stimulate the investment, create new businesses

and jobs, and re-energize the American economy for everyone, whether they were favorites of politicians

or not.

To learn more about the FairTax, visit

www.ohfairtax.org, and join Five for FairTax.

The FairTax: Once you understand it, you’ll demand it.

Steve Curtis

State Director, Ohio FairTax