It’s tax season—that magical time of the year when we revisit our past year of income and find out whether we owe the government more money, or whether we overpaid and are owed a refund. Fun times. But if some members of the U.S. House of Representatives have their way, your income tax calculations will get way easier—because the income tax wouldn’t exist:
Republicans in the House of Representatives will vote on a bill that would abolish the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), eliminate the national income tax and replace it with a national consumption tax.
Fox News Digital has learned that the House will be voting on Georgia Republican Rep. Buddy Carter’s reintroduced Fair Tax Act that aims to reel in the IRS and remove the national income tax, as well as other taxes, and replace them with a single consumption tax.
The vote on the bill was made as part of the deal between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and members of the House Freedom Caucus and was pushed forward in his quest for the gavel last week.
Am I saying there’s a chance?! No, not really. The Senate and the president will almost certainly reject abolishing the income tax, and it’s not entirely clear that even the House has the votes to pass it through the chamber. Then there’s the sticky issue of repealing the 16th Amendment, which enabled the national income tax; if this law were to pass, you’d need to repeal the amendment so that we won’t someday end up with both a sales tax and a renewed income tax! Details, details.
But is a national move away from the income tax the right idea? Undoubtedly. Income taxes are destructive to growth at all levels of government, and as Institute analysts press for the elimination of Missouri’s income taxes, our federal counterparts should consider similar tax reductions and reform. Whether this latest effort is the best approach or even has a snowball’s chance of success remains to be seen, but I’m glad the conversation is at least being had. It’s overdue.
