Anti-Consumption Taxes
On a state, county and local level, we support anti-consumption taxes to reflect the needs and desires of the individual communities and encourage each of them to use these anti-consumption taxes to support Sovereign Wealth Funds designed to eventually provide a Universal Basic Income for all citizens.
SEE: Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFR)
SEE ALSO: Universal Basic Income
On a federal level, we support the ELIMINATION of the personal income tax and recommend replacing it with taxes on international trade, stock transactions and energy consumption.
SEE: Income Tax
Most of the other countries in the world have much higher taxes on consumption:
We agree with the 2012 Constitutional Party Platform:
"Taxes
The Constitution, in Article I, Section 8, gives Congress the power
"to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts, and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States."
In Article I, Section 9, the original document made clear that "no Capitation, or other direct Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census of Enumeration herein before directed to be taken." It is moreover established that "No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.”
Since 1913, our Constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property have been abridged and diminished by the imposition on each of us of Federal income, payroll and estate taxes. This is an unconstitutional Federal assumption of direct taxing authority.
We propose legislation to abolish the Internal Revenue Service.
Moreover, it is our intention to replace, with a tariff based revenue system supplemented by excise taxes, the current tax system of the U.S. government (including income taxes, payroll taxes and estate taxes.)
To the degree that tariffs on foreign products, and excises, are insufficient to cover the legitimate Constitutional costs of the federal government, we will offer an apportioned "state-rate tax" in which the responsibility for covering the cost of unmet obligations will be divided among the several states in accordance with their proportion of the total population of the United States, excluding the District of Columbia. Thus, if a state contains 10 percent of the nation's citizens, it will be responsible for assuming payment of 10 percent of the annual deficit. The effect of this "state-rate tax" will be to encourage politicians to argue for less, rather than more, federal spending and less state spending as well.
To the extent permitted by the Constitution, we believe that the taxation of corporations is an appropriate source of government revenue. The Supreme Court has defined "income" as a "gain or increase arising from corporate activity or privilege." People are not corporations and corporations need not be treated as "people" for the purposes of taxation.
There is substantial evidence that the 16th Amendment was never legally ratified. When elected, we will act to cease collection of direct Federal personal income taxes. We also support ratification of the Liberty Amendment which would repeal the Sixteenth Amendment and provide that "Congress shall not levy taxes on personal incomes, estates and/or gifts."
We support the use of motor fuel excise taxes, at rates not in excess of those currently imposed, to be used exclusively for the erection, maintenance, and administration of Federal highways. These taxes should never be used for "demonstration projects", mass transit or for other non-highway purposes."
"Tariffs and Trade
Article I, Section 8 provides that duties, imposts, and excises are legitimate revenue-raising measures on which the United States government may properly rely. We support a tariff based revenue system, as did the Founding Fathers, which was the policy of the United States during most of the nation's history.
In no event will the U.S. tariff on any foreign import be less than the difference between the foreign item's cost of production and the cost of production of a similar item produced in the United States. The cost of production of a U.S. product shall include, but not be limited to, all compensation, including fringe benefits paid to American workers and environmental costs of doing business imposed on business by federal, state and local governments.
Tariffs are not only a constitutional source of revenue, but, wisely administered, are an aid to preservation of the national economy.
Since the adoption of the 1934 Trade Agreements Act, the United States government has engaged in a free trade policy which has destroyed or endangered important segments of our domestic agriculture and industry, undercut the wages of our working men and women, and totally destroyed or shipped abroad the jobs of hundreds of thousands of workers. This free trade policy is being used to foster socialism in America through welfare and subsidy programs.
We oppose all international trade agreements which have the effect of diminishing America's economic self-sufficiency and of exporting jobs, the loss of which impoverishes American families, undermines American communities, and diminishes America's capacity for economic self-reliance and the provision of national defense.
We see our country and its workers as more than bargaining chips for multinational corporations and international banks in their ill-conceived and evil New World Order.
We reject the trade concept of normal trade relations (Most Favored Nation status), used to curry favor with regimes whose domestic and international policies are abhorrent to decent people everywhere and which are in fundamental conflict with the vital interests of the United States of America.
We strongly oppose unconstitutional "Trade Promotion Authority," which transfers the establishment of trade policy from Congress to the Executive branch of government.
In the name of free trade, multi-national corporations have been given tax breaks by the U.S. government which are not available to American businesses, and the money extracted from U.S. taxpayers has been used by the government to subsidize exports and encourage businesses to move abroad. Such improprieties must cease.
The United States government should establish the firm policy that U.S. or multinational businesses investing abroad do so at their own risk. There is no obligation by our Government to protect those businesses with the lives of our service personnel or the taxes of our citizens.
Literally trillions of dollars of goods are being imported into the United States, but the duties paid on these imports is relatively tiny:
We agree with Andrew Yang 2020's platform:
"Taxing Income is an increasingly ineffective and inefficient way to generate revenue over time.
The burden of paying for social services falls disproportionately on those who earn the least.
A Value Added Tax is currently used by 160 out of 193 developed countries because it is a more efficient way of generating revenue with no loopholes.
Big companies and rich people are excellent at moving things around to avoid taxes – Amazon, Google, and other companies funnel hundreds of billions in earnings overseas.
A VAT makes it impossible for them to benefit from the American people and infrastructure without paying their fair share.
A Value-Added Tax is much more efficient way to capture the true value of the American infrastructure and will be increasingly necessary over time as more and more work is done by software, robots and artificial intelligence.
With a 10% VAT (half the European level) we can pay for Universal Basic Income for all American adults of $1,000 per month.”
Most other industrialized countries finance their governmental activities PRIMARILY through consumption taxes.
The United States funds its governmental activities PRIMARILY by taxing labor, instead of consumption.
There are a multitude of reasons why we should eliminate DIRECT income taxes and return to INDIRECT anti-consumption taxes.
For decades after the Constitution was ratified, one of the main sources of income for the Federal Budget was from tariffs charged on goods imported into the country. The power to do so is clearly specified in the Constitution.
Such tariffs should not be punitive against any specific country or industry. ALL goods and services entering the country could be taxed at a flat rate. These would be "indirect" taxes in the sense that anyone could avoid paying the taxes buy choosing to purchase products that are produced within the United States.
Congress was also given the power to regulate interstate commerce. Congress should collect an INTERSTATE commerce transaction tax for sales of goods and services that cross state lines.
Congress was also given the power to levy excise taxes, so long as they are uniform in all 50 states. The Federal gasoline tax is one example.
For decades after the Constitution was ratified, one of the main sources of income for the Federal Budget was from tariffs charged on goods imported into the country. The power to do so is clearly specified in the Constitution.
Such tariffs should not be punitive against any specific country or industry. ALL goods and services entering the country could be taxed at a flat rate. These would be "indirect" taxes in the sense that anyone could avoid paying the taxes buy choosing to purchase products that are produced within the United States.
Congress was also given the power to regulate interstate commerce. Congress should collect an INTERSTATE commerce transaction tax for sales of goods and services that cross state lines.
Congress was also given the power to levy excise taxes, so long as they are uniform in all 50 states. The Federal gasoline tax is one example.
Income taxes lower an individual's motivation to work harder and longer hours. The income tax is so complicated that the average person spends 16+ hours calculating their yearly taxes (2 days!). The income tax should be completely eliminated.
When sales taxes, excise taxes or import duties and tariffs are collected, it increases the cost of products and services. This generally has the effect of lowering consumption. Lowering consumption (and lowering imports) would have a wide range of benefits to society.
Lower rates of consumption generally results in less pollution, less carbon emissions, and a higher rate of savings. Lowering the amount of goods that are imported would likely help to balance our trade imbalance and help improve the expansion of local businesses.
Lower rates of consumption generally results in less pollution, less carbon emissions, and a higher rate of savings. Lowering the amount of goods that are imported would likely help to balance our trade imbalance and help improve the expansion of local businesses.
CONTROL:
Government currently manages the nation's economy by DIRECTLY taxing income, which works to reduce effort and entrepreneurial behavior. That is counter-productive. Government should instead seek to guide other aspects of of society via clear taxes on specific activities other than work.
Government currently manages the nation's economy by DIRECTLY taxing income, which works to reduce effort and entrepreneurial behavior. That is counter-productive. Government should instead seek to guide other aspects of of society via clear taxes on specific activities other than work.
FREEDOM:
By shifting to an INDIRECT tax on consumption, everyone will be free to enjoy all the fruits of their labor and they will also be free to avoid all taxes by limiting their consumption.
By shifting to an INDIRECT tax on consumption, everyone will be free to enjoy all the fruits of their labor and they will also be free to avoid all taxes by limiting their consumption.
CHANGE:
This is a dramatic change and clean break away from the millions of words that clutter up the mind-numbingly complex tax code. The only people who won't see dumping the income tax as a welcome change are those who profit from the wasted time spent calculating income taxes and trying to devise schemes to try to pay as little as possible.
This is a dramatic change and clean break away from the millions of words that clutter up the mind-numbingly complex tax code. The only people who won't see dumping the income tax as a welcome change are those who profit from the wasted time spent calculating income taxes and trying to devise schemes to try to pay as little as possible.
TRADITION:
Our Founding Fathers didn't pay income taxes. If there is a time period that we should look back to and long for, it would be the time before income taxes drained the life out of the working class.
Our Founding Fathers didn't pay income taxes. If there is a time period that we should look back to and long for, it would be the time before income taxes drained the life out of the working class.
