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Abolishing income tax step in right direction

May 20, 2009|Leland Conway

I'm not against taxes. I am, however, for the fairest disbursement of the tax burden over the population and more importantly, the prudent use of this investment by government.

It was once said, "Government has nothing but what it must first take away from its citizens." As long as taxes are used in a prudent and efficient manner, one must not necessarily view them as having been taken. It is when we see government wasting that money through the re-distribution of wealth that it becomes a moral issue.

The founding fathers wisely understood that a public treasury must exist in order to ensure a sound infrastructure making the natural commerce of a free market more efficient. Beyond securing the national defense and providing for certain acknowledged infrastructure needs, the government has no further enumerated duties. All other spending necessarily becomes the immoral re-distribution of wealth.

Consider the current immoral structure of property taxes. Why, in a country that supposedly recognizes the sacred right to private property, must we pay rent for the use of our possessions? I have no problem with a onetime sales tax on property which I purchase, be it a vehicle or an acre of land. Beyond that onetime fee, which I consider a fair contribution to the public treasury, why should I pay a recurring charge for the use of something I own?

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Let's consider the immoral structure of the income tax. When in 1913, the congress passed the 16th amendment, they obligated all future generations to an income levy. Do we not own the wages we make the same as we own our homes? Is this not confiscation of private property?

This is not a dissertation against taxation. On the contrary, I am appreciative of the first rate infrastructure which my public contributions have built in this country.

I am arguing for a return to a system which our founding fathers envisioned, one in which government largely removed itself as an obstacle to the efforts of citizens to fulfill their desired destiny.

The only tax system that is truly fair is a tax on sales and services. Allowing individuals to keep all of what they earn and to participate in the public treasury to the extent they choose.

For those who subscribe to the notion that the rich should pay more of the tax burden, this should be an easy proposal to support. Wealthy people naturally consume more, so by their own choice they would pay more in taxes.

In Kentucky we have an opportunity to take a step in this direction with Rep. Bill Farmer's HB 51. This bill would eliminate Kentucky's income tax and place a sales tax on services not currently taxed. The overall sales tax would drop from 6 percent to 5.5 percent.

The end of the income tax would mean an average of $3,500 cash back in Kentuckians' pockets to spend as they see fit. The increase in business friendliness with the elimination of the payroll tax would lead to a subsequent boom in new businesses, translation - job creation. Let's do our part to return government to its roots and support HB 51 eliminating the income tax in Kentucky.

Leland Conway is the executive editor and co-founder of www.conservativeedge.com and the Host of the Pulse of Lexington on News Radio 630 WLAP.

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