How many IRS or DOR scandals will it take? Citizens are fed up with scandals in state and federal government and are sick of seeing higher taxes, corrupt tax policies, and now a weaponized IRS. You can’t have missed the revelations about the IRS’s targeting of political opponents. Throughout a two-year period, the determinations unit within the IRS singled out nearly 300 groups requesting a tax-exempt status for additional inspection. Of those groups, 96 were targeted because they were affiliated with the Tea Party movement, and those groups’ approval process for a tax-exempt status took a frustratingly long time, with some still awaiting approval. Not only is it disturbing that these groups were singled out, but also that officials failed to stop the discrimination when they first learned about it. 

The IRS scandal has exposed the most heinous aspect of the income tax — it empowers politicians to punish enemies, reward friends, and aggrandize themselves. This is the time to abolish the IRS and replace federal revenues with the National Fair Tax — a tax on consumption, not income. Our federal government is growing too powerful; our government is supposed to serve the people, not the other way around. An op-ed published by Forbes Magazine excellently describes what needs to take place: “The Founders saw the dangers in direct taxation, and that’s why they prohibited it when they wrote the Constitution. The latest IRS scandal is a wakeup call. The 16th Amendment was a mistake. The income tax gives the federal government more information about, and power over, citizens than is compatible with freedom. The only permanent solution to the problem of IRS abuse is to abolish the IRS and institute the Fair Tax.”

The Fair Tax is a national retail sales tax that eliminates personal and corporate income taxes and the hidden costs of compliance in both wholesale and retail prices. There would be no federal withholding, meaning more of your hard-earned dollars can stay in your wallet. The Fair Tax would collect enough revenue to replace current individual and corporate income taxes, payroll taxes, and death tax. The tax would also strengthen our Social Security and Medicare programs; put our country back on track to strong economic growth; and allow families to save more money for home ownership, education, and retirement. You can read more about the benefits of the Fair Tax by reading the Forbes op-ed, titled “IRS Scandal is the Latest Evidence that We Need a Fair Tax.”

Discussion of eliminating state income tax in Missouri was a big topic of discussion not only this year (SJR 24), but also in past years. Income tax is one of the most troubling obstacles to economic prosperity for our state and Missouri families. We need to provide incentives for job creators to come to our state and for current businesses to continue to flourish in Missouri. The income tax is a brick wall that stands in the way of the American Dream. It makes no sense to tax hard-working people who have the potential to bring so much good to the table for our economy, and it’s time we stop picking winners and losers in our job market. The American Legislative Exchange Council’s “Rich States, Poor States” identifies states without income taxes as consistent prosperity leaders.

The Missouri Jobs and Prosperity Act, which was introduced in the Missouri House in 2011, is good public policy for rescuing our taxation system from chaos. It proposes a constitutional amendment replacing the individual and corporate income tax, corporation and bank franchise taxes, and sales and use tax with a sales tax on certain property and services. The initiative did not make it past the legislative finish line, but it’s a matter officials continue to advocate.

The act would allow Missourians to see an increase in disposable income (there would no longer be withholdings from paychecks); eliminate government control on how we spend our income; shift business focus from taxation to customers and employees (more energy and resources would be spent on growing and investing in business, rather than worrying about paying or avoiding state income taxes); and eliminate the disincentive for success by taxing consumption, not labor. Historical comparison also shows us that Missouri’s sales tax has provided a more stable revenue stream than the income tax.

The bottom line is that we need to empower Missourians, not government or corporations. We need to restore power and responsibility to the people and stop taxing success and prosperity. A limited government that serves the people and allows citizens control over their own lives is the best public policy; eliminating the income tax will stop IRS tyranny. If you have any questions about economic prosperity and taxation in Missouri, please don’t hesitate to contact my Capitol office. Thank you and God bless.