
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">We all know that the Internal Revenue Service is the collection and enforcement agency to collect the National Income Tax. ; Many folks may not know that the IRS is not the creature of our Founders. ; In fact, the IRS did not exist for the first 73 years of the American Republic. ; ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It was created in 1862 to collect a temporary tax to finance the Civil War – on the northern side. ; It was a fixed 3% on those earning more than $800 per year – essentially eliminating most Americans from the tax. It was allowed to expire in 1872.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Different Supreme Courts ruled differently on the constitutionality of a direct income tax. ; That was settled in 1913, with the enactment of the 16<sup>th</sup> Amendment.  ; It was initially a modest collection and accounting function &#8212; and a large percentage of Americans being below the minimum income requirement. ; From 1939 to 1945, however, the number of citizens required to pay the income tax rose from four million to 42 million – more than a ten-time increase in less than ten years. ; Today there are more than 148 million taxpayers – and a lot more who should be.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Rather than a taxing policy to meet needs, the ability to increase taxes has provided an enormous pool of financial resources to meet increasing political desires. ; The clever idea of “withholding” the tax from the paychecks was the means of not only guaranteeing payment, but a way to aestheticize workers from the pain of digging into their own pockets to pay the tax. ; Many experts have argued that without withholding, the public would never have tolerated the same level of tax increases we see today.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">To coerce payment, the IRS was granted powerful enforcement policies. ; It could collect both interest and penalties on taxes not properly paid – in their opinion. ; It can seize bank accounts and property without due process – no requirement to sue in court where the taxpayer could mount a defense. ; Through the Department of the Treasury, the IRS has a police force that can raid and arrest – even licensed to kill. And Biden’s so-called Inflation Reduction Act provides an additional $78 billion for additional personnel for the IRS over the next eight years – almost doubling the current Agency budget. ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">No agency of government is more disliked and feared by law-abiding citizens than is the IRS. ; Do we really need the income tax to fund the government?</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">If we had another means – such as a National Income Tax –the IRS would not exist. ; We would never have to make out and file those needlessly complicated forms. ; We would never have to fear an audit – or have money and property seized. ; We would not have to fret over all those loopholes the rich and powerful use to reduce their tax burden.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">There would be a saving to the taxpayers. ; Collecting a National Sales Tax would result in a drastic cost saving to today’s $15 billion IRS budget (not including the Biden money).</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The way to do it is with a National Sales Tax (NST). ; Now we all know that sales taxes are regressive – tending to impact hardest on the lower income groups. ; That can be resolved by making the NST moderately progressive. ; That means no sales tax on basic foods, medicines and other essentials. ; High-end items would have a higher tax rate &#8212; luxury cars, expensive jewelry, designer clothes, fine wines, caviar, etc., etc., etc.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Middle class citizens could adjust their income by managing their purchases. ; The wealthy would bear not only their share of the tax burden, but a little more.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The government would not have to deal with millions of people in managing the collection. ; That would be handled by the businesses selling taxable goods and services. ; They would be collecting the tax at the time of purchase and sending on to the government. ; That is not even a totally extra burden on the business community since they already perform that service when they collect both state and local sales taxes. ; In fact, the business burden would be lessened by not having to withhold income taxes from employees.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In terms of downsides on the citizens, there is only one. ; It would require a significant increase in the price tag. ; Folks would have to really analyze that against their saving they receive with the elimination of the Income Tax.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Some argue that a National Sales Tax would open up another money pit for political avarice. ; That is why an NST should ONLY be enacted IF (𡨠big IF) … If the Income tax is eliminated by a constitutional amendment nullifying the 16<sup>th</sup> Amendment that created it. ; Otherwise, the critics are correct. ; The government would have another major means of fleecing we the people.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Now that I have your hopes up, I have to explain why it will never happen. ; Most of the IRS’s thousands of employees would need other jobs – and they would not be going quietly. ; Then there are those hundreds of thousands of independent tax accountants, financial advisors, tax preparers and tax attorneys – not to mention the tens of thousands of corporate employees in the tax departments &#8212; working with the accounting firms to search out the loopholes. ; And let us not forget all the lobbyists who focus on taxes – the men and women who propose the legislation creating exemptions and loopholes. ; Did I mention the money they donate?</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Income Tax may impose a horrendous burden on the American worker, but the industry is too big … too powerful … to be shut down – no matter how good the alternative may be. ; Try to find a member of Congress who would even introduce such legislation.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">So, there ‘tis.</p>

We Should (but will not) Abolish the IRS
