April 15: Countdown to T-Day

It is that time of the year again when business owners acquire ulcers, CPAs go underground, and all of us largely lose our cool. The reason for it is April 15th, which is tax day! The day that all our procrastination and failure to plan come back to haunt us. I have friends that I don't even talk to between now and around a week after the big day. They are either too miserable to deal with or are completely detached with what is going on around them. I'll wait until after the tax season for them to check back in.

Wouldn't it be great if April 15th was just another day? That is the exact objective of an organization called Americans for Fair Taxation, which wants to replace our current income tax system with a sales tax. Take note, the word is replace, not supplement. This is an idea that I have supported for quite some time and commented on it often in this blog. The advantages to it are numerous and significant:

* It would dramatically reduce the cost of doing business, making the US a magnet to attract companies from around the world that is comparable (or greater) than the affect that cheap labor has had on the world economy.

* It would greatly reduce tax fraud and would force criminals and illegal immigrants to contribute to our tax system through their purchases.

* It would get more Americans participating in the tax system than the current system that is punitive on those who are the most productive. However, it also has mechanisms to protect those who are truly poor.

* It curtails the abusive powers of the IRS.

* It would lead to enormous economic growth in virtually every area, including for those many believe would suffer if the income tax system was eliminated. Home building would explode and CPAs would be needed to plan business growth and expansion instead of mere defensive measures.

The time to change the system is now. The reasons to do so are really unlimited.