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FairTax.org Cries Foul in Texas House Race
Monday, August 11, 2008
For Immediate Release
FairTax.org Cries Foul in Texas House Race
Houston—The non-partisan campaign to replace the
income tax system with a national retail sales
tax today criticized the Democratic Congressional
Campaign Committee and incumbent candidate Nick
Lampson for “gross distortions of the FairTax
that make even harder the way out of the mess
the income tax has created,” said FairTax spokesman
Ken Hoagland.
Hoagland criticized a new television campaign ad by Lampson (TX-22) that accuses opponent Pete Olson of backing a plan that will increase the cost of food and other necessities of life. “Not true,” said Hoagland. “Left out of the ad, of course, is the fact that under the FairTax all federal withholding is eliminated from paychecks, retail prices are expected to actually fall as embedded tax costs are eliminated and the most regressive taxes of all—FICA payroll taxes—become a thing of the past.”
“Analyses by respected economists prove that the greatest benefits of the FairTax accrue to the poor and the middle class,” said Hoagland. “The monthly FairTax prebate actually eliminates all federal taxes on those below the poverty line and dramatically helps the middle class wage earner, “said Hoagland. “But politicians sometimes distort the truth to gain political advantage and that is what is again happening here,” he added.
“At FairTax.org we don’t take sides in political races and we don’t have a political action committee but we will set the record straight no matter who is distorting our extensively researched legislation,” said Hoagland. “Unfortunately, some find advantage in keeping the broken income tax system alive no matter how much it hurts taxpayers or damages the national economy,” he said. “Tax lobbyists and congressional tax writing committees love the power and profit that come from manipulation of 67,500 almost indecipherable pages of income tax regulations,” he said.
Hoagland said that there are currently 73 congressional co-sponsors of the FairTax legislation and admitted that, “most are Republicans” but that, “Democrats at the grassroots level are starting to see the light.” He pointed to a recent vote by the National Association of Letter Carriers to endorse the FairTax that, while turned back, had 30% of the membership “willing to try something better.” He also pointed out that the International Sheet Metal and Aerospace Workers Union had endorsed Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee last year, “because they saw that the FairTax would bring jobs back to the United States and require the wealthy to pay an equal rate on taxes without loopholes or gimmicks.”
“We tried to call Mr. Lampson’s campaign manager to straighten this out before issuing this press release but he never returned our call. I guess it’s sometimes easier, in the heat of a political campaign, to shade the truth than be straight with voters,” Hoagland said.
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