If Trump and the Republicans could get this done, I think it would be decades before the Democrats could recover, and have even a slim chance of ever regaining power. I'll be praying that it can actually happen.
Some points: You suggest that if there is no income tax, then companies from all over the world would want to come here to manufacture products. Probably that would happen and that would mean we would have to import fewer goods because they could be made here and then what happens to tariffs if fewer goods are being imported?
I don't think tariffs are that stable and what happens if trade wars break out? Unknown. Tariffs will be paid on imported products and who is going to foot that bill? The makers of the goods, the importers or the consumers? China isn't going to sit back and watch their export empire crumble.
If we need say $6.5 trillion for income and collect only $5 or $5.5 trillion in tariffs, where does the difference come from? I don't trust congress not to raise taxes in other areas. And no VAT tax or consumption tax either will work. I just have scary thoughts since government always fails to consider the unintended consequences that always appear when they do something.
If consumers suddenly have many thousands more a month to spend, and they do start spending it, wouldn't inflation kind of bump up as the demand for goods and services would rise and it might take a while for supply to meet the new demand. It might take years for this to balance out. Everything these days is warp-speed.
Only about half the people in the country pay income taxes. We are talking about major changes for many but at least half the country won't feel a thing. Maybe they become upset because they aren't getting anything. I don't know how that matters and for sure getting rid of 80,000 pages of gobbledygook filled tax code pages won't hurt anything.
I guess all the tax industry workers will have to find other employment. No reason a tax return shouldn't be reduced to more than a postcard or two.
If people have more money, but the money supply doesn't change, it could raise prices, but it wouldn't be government created inflation from "printing" more money. I got bad grades in school so I may be fudging this up.
This is something I have dreamed about since childhood 🙏🏻
"Legislatively, you just repeal the Revenue Act of 1913. Stroke of a pen, and the IRS is gone forever."
here are a few countries where residents do not have to pay personal income tax. These typically fall into three categories: tax havens, oil-rich nations, and small island nations with alternative revenue sources (like tourism or business registration fees). Here's a list of countries with no personal income tax:
Middle East (Oil-Rich Nations)
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Kuwait
Bahrain
Oman
Caribbean (Tax Havens & Tourism-Based Economies)
Bahamas
Bermuda
Cayman Islands
Turks and Caicos
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Europe (Microstates & Special Jurisdictions)
Monaco
Andorra (No income tax for residents, but some corporate tax applies)
Thank you for your timely article and research. What do you think would become different about business taxes in the US? My husband and I are both business owners and while we are not millionaires, nor do we employ very many people, we are burdened in Washington state and federally by taxes. I also wonder if you could discuss what would happen with state income taxes. We don’t have that here, butI believe about 30 states have income taxes…
We could revert back to the states collecting income tax and using that to offset any federal deficit. That gives the states a lot more power that they lost with the 16th amendment.
I am a Fairfax supporter, so anytime you say get rid of the payroll taxes, you have my attention. As I’m sure you know, the Fairtax is all about letting Americans keep 100% of their paycheck and moving the federal income to spending instead of earning. When you spend money on anything, that vendor has to collect a national sales tax and that pays for the government. Since that is a regressive tax, you include a prebate - refunding the sales tax on what you spend to live at the poverty level for each American household.
I like this idea of exchanging a tax on earnings to tax on foreign spending. That’s awesome since it makes US-manufactured goods tax-free!
The problem I see is the same problem we had with a flat national sales tax - it is regressive. The less money you make, the higher percentage of your income you pay in tax. You will be increasing the tax burden for the working poor - young people just starting out in life, single mothers, the working elderly, etc. At the same time, you keep taxes low on the rich since they spend less of their income.
If we implement this with only tariffs, the moderates will just see this as another plan to make the rich richer off the back of the middle class and the poor. We’ll lose our majority in the house at midterm elections.
Has anyone considered a prebate-type mechanism? At one time, Elon talked about taxing automation (robots) to fund a UBI program. If AI really takes US jobs then this would serve a similar function to the prebate in the Fairtax.
We need to get out and get the message out. The FairTax is the best route for the US. It’s not just keeping what you have worked for, it’s getting rid of that most un-American boondoggle of a semi easily hackable IRS. Read the book The Tax Deception by John Gaver. I’ve been a FairTaxer for years and it really is the best way to fund the Government.
No, we do not. They are not skilled and not interested in becoming true Americans. Europe is uncompetitive and has ten million work regulations. Small wonder the EU is uncompetitive overall.
You know what's pathetic about the left? they have no issue with sucking the life out of their "own" (whatever that means - obviously they hate their own), but they have a very big issue with making foreigners pay their dues.. the left should be kicked out of this country and they can choose any country to go to where they've been sending taxpayer dollars unaccounted for!
For all those idiots out there who parrot the talking points of their slave masters in the media, the financial world and D.C. - "something is only impossible to do, until someone does it."
This has been being discussed, considered, studied and advocated for, since the Federal income tax was implemented in the American public, so it's not a haphazard, nutty, out of the blue idea, like those stealing your hard earned money are screaming it is.
Ask yourselves this, who actually has your best interests in mind, those who say...
"We must maintain a system that has been rife with corruption and malfeasance and has not improved the wealth or prosperity of the American citizen"
or
...the Person, party that say "there's no reason the American people should be taxed on their earnings and generational wealth (think inheritance tax). We can fund a smaller government with external revenue of tariffs and profits from our energy production and trade.".
If you want this, you had better show up, everyday and let those 76 million voices be heard in the halls of D.C, but especially congress. If you sit back and don't call, don;t email, don't use message portals from conservative pundits, to beat reps and senators into submission, you will be the reason why this never comes to fruition.
There has never been a chance like the one we have now, to rip wealth, power out of the hands radicals, marxist. communist, globalist perverts and return it to the working class.
Bottom line, the success of all these changes depends on us. It is our responsibility to apply overwhelming pressure on the house and senate and make them bend to our will, The lie that your voice and vote do not count was controlled opposition sold to you by both parties, so you would wallow in the distractions they fed you. Time to wake up and into the fight, that has always been our responsibility.
As an early retired IRS employee (over 3 decades; my start date was when I was 3), I have lots of thoughts about federal income tax. I worked collection, accounts and tax law over those 3 decades, and had plenty of contact with our nation's citizens. I don't call them taxpayers because many aren't. As Grok confirmed my work experience, about 40% of all Americans do not pay federal income tax. Only .6% of those who don't pay federal income tax have incomes above $60k annually. Having no income tax at all, eliminating the 1040, the IRS, would actually wipe out the IRS welfare programs of refundable tax credits such as the EIC and ACTC, and would save the Treasury close to 200 billion annually. So the 40% of income earning US citizens who do not pay income taxes would actually see a decrease in annual income. $7,830 is the maximum the IRS can pay out in Earned Income Credit (EIC) for 2024; $1700 pay out per qualifying child for ACTC. Many, many households who never pay a dime in federal income tax, get huge payouts of these refundable credits that is pure income to them, not a return of federal income withholding for example. I predict Democrats in Congress will be in an interesting pickle about the wiping out of the income tax and the IRS, because EIC and ACTC would end too. That's a lot of tax-related welfare/aid income. These programs are filled with fraud waste and abuse by US Citizens I also would like to point out, it was an endless fascinating trip to witness this as a frontline IRS employee.
Trump wants to fund the Federal government with tariffs like was done in the 1800s. I’m all for that if the government could be reduced to the size it was back then (but there’s obviously no way tariffs could pay today’s bloated budget).
The Feds in 1890 spent $18 million in its budget. Adjusted for inflation, that would be a Federal budget today of $624 billion.
This could possibly backfire? How much would these plans thwart China's economy? If China sees it as a threat to their economy and national security, they could distract the Trump administration with an attack on Taiwan, which could lead to WWIII.
But damn do I like the idea of getting rid of income tax and the IRS. Send those damn agents to the border!
We aren't going to WWIII over Taiwan. All China has to do is blockade Taiwan by air and by sea and not fire a shot. What exactly are we going to do there, fire the first shot? In the end, we are not going WWIII over Taiwan because it is so close to China, we don't have a prayer of having enough assets in theater to make any real difference.
repealing the Income Tax Act is an interesting proposal, even in the suggestion of it, we're forced to consider a world without it. I'm guessing we will see a change.
Team Trump will have enough difficulty renewing the 2017 TCJA provisions, which should be Job One. They won't have the votes in the House to cut enough spending to exempt tips, retire income, or raise the SALT deduction limit.
The whole tips thing makes no sense. Why do they get a break first, over others? Give a tax break across the board. This is a Democratic stunt, picking winners and losers. Sorry, you aren't a waiter, so ALL your INCOME is taxable. Nice.
Signs that Bitcoin whales might be selling include:
1. Decline in Demand: A 66% drop in short-term inflows signals reduced confidence among short-term investors, often influenced by whale activity.
2. Order Book Activity: Large buy orders (whale orders) are being canceled or adjusted, which suggests hesitation among big players to support the price at current levels.
3. Price Stagnation and Weak Momentum: Despite bullish predictions, Bitcoin’s price has struggled to maintain upward momentum, with bearish pressure evident in recent trading patterns.
The most reliable indicators of Bitcoin whales selling include:
1. Exchange Inflows: A significant increase in the average amount of Bitcoin being deposited into exchanges (exchange inflow mean) often signals that whales are preparing to sell. If the mean per transaction exceeds 2 BTC, it may indicate a potential sell-off.
2. Large Transactions on Blockchain: Monitoring blockchain data for large Bitcoin transfers to exchanges can reveal whale activity. Tools like Whale Alert and Nansen provide real-time notifications of such movements.
3. Price Volatility and Liquidity Shifts: Whales selling large amounts can create downward price pressure and reduce market liquidity, leading to increased volatility.
4. Whale Wallet Tracking: Using platforms like Etherscan or specialized trackers (e.g., Whale Alert or DexCheck) to monitor whale wallets for patterns such as frequent exchange deposits can provide actionable insights.
I realize the details aren’t there but what do you anticipate would become of taxation on pre-tax accounts (IRA, 401k, capital gains from PM and real estate sales, etc., etc.)?
If Trump and the Republicans could get this done, I think it would be decades before the Democrats could recover, and have even a slim chance of ever regaining power. I'll be praying that it can actually happen.
Some points: You suggest that if there is no income tax, then companies from all over the world would want to come here to manufacture products. Probably that would happen and that would mean we would have to import fewer goods because they could be made here and then what happens to tariffs if fewer goods are being imported?
I don't think tariffs are that stable and what happens if trade wars break out? Unknown. Tariffs will be paid on imported products and who is going to foot that bill? The makers of the goods, the importers or the consumers? China isn't going to sit back and watch their export empire crumble.
If we need say $6.5 trillion for income and collect only $5 or $5.5 trillion in tariffs, where does the difference come from? I don't trust congress not to raise taxes in other areas. And no VAT tax or consumption tax either will work. I just have scary thoughts since government always fails to consider the unintended consequences that always appear when they do something.
If consumers suddenly have many thousands more a month to spend, and they do start spending it, wouldn't inflation kind of bump up as the demand for goods and services would rise and it might take a while for supply to meet the new demand. It might take years for this to balance out. Everything these days is warp-speed.
Only about half the people in the country pay income taxes. We are talking about major changes for many but at least half the country won't feel a thing. Maybe they become upset because they aren't getting anything. I don't know how that matters and for sure getting rid of 80,000 pages of gobbledygook filled tax code pages won't hurt anything.
I guess all the tax industry workers will have to find other employment. No reason a tax return shouldn't be reduced to more than a postcard or two.
If people have more money, but the money supply doesn't change, it could raise prices, but it wouldn't be government created inflation from "printing" more money. I got bad grades in school so I may be fudging this up.
This is something I have dreamed about since childhood 🙏🏻
"Legislatively, you just repeal the Revenue Act of 1913. Stroke of a pen, and the IRS is gone forever."
here are a few countries where residents do not have to pay personal income tax. These typically fall into three categories: tax havens, oil-rich nations, and small island nations with alternative revenue sources (like tourism or business registration fees). Here's a list of countries with no personal income tax:
Middle East (Oil-Rich Nations)
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Kuwait
Bahrain
Oman
Caribbean (Tax Havens & Tourism-Based Economies)
Bahamas
Bermuda
Cayman Islands
Turks and Caicos
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Europe (Microstates & Special Jurisdictions)
Monaco
Andorra (No income tax for residents, but some corporate tax applies)
Others...
Vanuatu (South Pacific tax haven)
Brunei (Oil-rich Sultanate in Southeast Asia)
Thank you for your timely article and research. What do you think would become different about business taxes in the US? My husband and I are both business owners and while we are not millionaires, nor do we employ very many people, we are burdened in Washington state and federally by taxes. I also wonder if you could discuss what would happen with state income taxes. We don’t have that here, butI believe about 30 states have income taxes…
We could revert back to the states collecting income tax and using that to offset any federal deficit. That gives the states a lot more power that they lost with the 16th amendment.
I am a Fairfax supporter, so anytime you say get rid of the payroll taxes, you have my attention. As I’m sure you know, the Fairtax is all about letting Americans keep 100% of their paycheck and moving the federal income to spending instead of earning. When you spend money on anything, that vendor has to collect a national sales tax and that pays for the government. Since that is a regressive tax, you include a prebate - refunding the sales tax on what you spend to live at the poverty level for each American household.
I like this idea of exchanging a tax on earnings to tax on foreign spending. That’s awesome since it makes US-manufactured goods tax-free!
The problem I see is the same problem we had with a flat national sales tax - it is regressive. The less money you make, the higher percentage of your income you pay in tax. You will be increasing the tax burden for the working poor - young people just starting out in life, single mothers, the working elderly, etc. At the same time, you keep taxes low on the rich since they spend less of their income.
If we implement this with only tariffs, the moderates will just see this as another plan to make the rich richer off the back of the middle class and the poor. We’ll lose our majority in the house at midterm elections.
Has anyone considered a prebate-type mechanism? At one time, Elon talked about taxing automation (robots) to fund a UBI program. If AI really takes US jobs then this would serve a similar function to the prebate in the Fairtax.
Is anyone discussing this?
We need to get out and get the message out. The FairTax is the best route for the US. It’s not just keeping what you have worked for, it’s getting rid of that most un-American boondoggle of a semi easily hackable IRS. Read the book The Tax Deception by John Gaver. I’ve been a FairTaxer for years and it really is the best way to fund the Government.
You can make staples not taxable like milk and bread.
I think the usa...might need all those migrants back..nannys and gardners
so the gringos can go to work,,
but really...Are there skilled workers enough...??
Here in europe...we can´t do without the...cheaper labour of eastern europeans..
niether can England after brexit...
demografics are against this...
No, we do not. They are not skilled and not interested in becoming true Americans. Europe is uncompetitive and has ten million work regulations. Small wonder the EU is uncompetitive overall.
You know what's pathetic about the left? they have no issue with sucking the life out of their "own" (whatever that means - obviously they hate their own), but they have a very big issue with making foreigners pay their dues.. the left should be kicked out of this country and they can choose any country to go to where they've been sending taxpayer dollars unaccounted for!
Excellent Post!!
For all those idiots out there who parrot the talking points of their slave masters in the media, the financial world and D.C. - "something is only impossible to do, until someone does it."
This has been being discussed, considered, studied and advocated for, since the Federal income tax was implemented in the American public, so it's not a haphazard, nutty, out of the blue idea, like those stealing your hard earned money are screaming it is.
Ask yourselves this, who actually has your best interests in mind, those who say...
"We must maintain a system that has been rife with corruption and malfeasance and has not improved the wealth or prosperity of the American citizen"
or
...the Person, party that say "there's no reason the American people should be taxed on their earnings and generational wealth (think inheritance tax). We can fund a smaller government with external revenue of tariffs and profits from our energy production and trade.".
If you want this, you had better show up, everyday and let those 76 million voices be heard in the halls of D.C, but especially congress. If you sit back and don't call, don;t email, don't use message portals from conservative pundits, to beat reps and senators into submission, you will be the reason why this never comes to fruition.
There has never been a chance like the one we have now, to rip wealth, power out of the hands radicals, marxist. communist, globalist perverts and return it to the working class.
Bottom line, the success of all these changes depends on us. It is our responsibility to apply overwhelming pressure on the house and senate and make them bend to our will, The lie that your voice and vote do not count was controlled opposition sold to you by both parties, so you would wallow in the distractions they fed you. Time to wake up and into the fight, that has always been our responsibility.
As an early retired IRS employee (over 3 decades; my start date was when I was 3), I have lots of thoughts about federal income tax. I worked collection, accounts and tax law over those 3 decades, and had plenty of contact with our nation's citizens. I don't call them taxpayers because many aren't. As Grok confirmed my work experience, about 40% of all Americans do not pay federal income tax. Only .6% of those who don't pay federal income tax have incomes above $60k annually. Having no income tax at all, eliminating the 1040, the IRS, would actually wipe out the IRS welfare programs of refundable tax credits such as the EIC and ACTC, and would save the Treasury close to 200 billion annually. So the 40% of income earning US citizens who do not pay income taxes would actually see a decrease in annual income. $7,830 is the maximum the IRS can pay out in Earned Income Credit (EIC) for 2024; $1700 pay out per qualifying child for ACTC. Many, many households who never pay a dime in federal income tax, get huge payouts of these refundable credits that is pure income to them, not a return of federal income withholding for example. I predict Democrats in Congress will be in an interesting pickle about the wiping out of the income tax and the IRS, because EIC and ACTC would end too. That's a lot of tax-related welfare/aid income. These programs are filled with fraud waste and abuse by US Citizens I also would like to point out, it was an endless fascinating trip to witness this as a frontline IRS employee.
Trump wants to fund the Federal government with tariffs like was done in the 1800s. I’m all for that if the government could be reduced to the size it was back then (but there’s obviously no way tariffs could pay today’s bloated budget).
The Feds in 1890 spent $18 million in its budget. Adjusted for inflation, that would be a Federal budget today of $624 billion.
I am so down with that. I think it would work.
Tariffs/taxes on your neighbors just raises prices for everything purchased in your country.
This could possibly backfire? How much would these plans thwart China's economy? If China sees it as a threat to their economy and national security, they could distract the Trump administration with an attack on Taiwan, which could lead to WWIII.
But damn do I like the idea of getting rid of income tax and the IRS. Send those damn agents to the border!
We aren't going to WWIII over Taiwan. All China has to do is blockade Taiwan by air and by sea and not fire a shot. What exactly are we going to do there, fire the first shot? In the end, we are not going WWIII over Taiwan because it is so close to China, we don't have a prayer of having enough assets in theater to make any real difference.
repealing the Income Tax Act is an interesting proposal, even in the suggestion of it, we're forced to consider a world without it. I'm guessing we will see a change.
Team Trump will have enough difficulty renewing the 2017 TCJA provisions, which should be Job One. They won't have the votes in the House to cut enough spending to exempt tips, retire income, or raise the SALT deduction limit.
The whole tips thing makes no sense. Why do they get a break first, over others? Give a tax break across the board. This is a Democratic stunt, picking winners and losers. Sorry, you aren't a waiter, so ALL your INCOME is taxable. Nice.
Here’s something counterintuitive
Whales selling
Signs that Bitcoin whales might be selling include:
1. Decline in Demand: A 66% drop in short-term inflows signals reduced confidence among short-term investors, often influenced by whale activity.
2. Order Book Activity: Large buy orders (whale orders) are being canceled or adjusted, which suggests hesitation among big players to support the price at current levels.
3. Price Stagnation and Weak Momentum: Despite bullish predictions, Bitcoin’s price has struggled to maintain upward momentum, with bearish pressure evident in recent trading patterns.
The most reliable indicators of Bitcoin whales selling include:
1. Exchange Inflows: A significant increase in the average amount of Bitcoin being deposited into exchanges (exchange inflow mean) often signals that whales are preparing to sell. If the mean per transaction exceeds 2 BTC, it may indicate a potential sell-off.
2. Large Transactions on Blockchain: Monitoring blockchain data for large Bitcoin transfers to exchanges can reveal whale activity. Tools like Whale Alert and Nansen provide real-time notifications of such movements.
3. Price Volatility and Liquidity Shifts: Whales selling large amounts can create downward price pressure and reduce market liquidity, leading to increased volatility.
4. Whale Wallet Tracking: Using platforms like Etherscan or specialized trackers (e.g., Whale Alert or DexCheck) to monitor whale wallets for patterns such as frequent exchange deposits can provide actionable insights.
Professor,
I realize the details aren’t there but what do you anticipate would become of taxation on pre-tax accounts (IRA, 401k, capital gains from PM and real estate sales, etc., etc.)?
G