Buchanan tax forum well-received by public

On Friday, Mar. 29, the New College of Florida hosted a forum debating the current federal tax system. Front and center was U.S. Representative Vern Buchanan, a member of the U.S. Ways and Means Committee, a group set up to review federal income tax law. Also present was Neal Boortz, co-author of the Fair Tax Book and a proponent of the consumption tax; Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute, a supporter of a flat tax; Jerry Pierce, the Florida chairman of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), an association promoting tax relief for small businesses; and writer/radio host Susan Nilon, General Manager of WSRQ talk radio and an advocate for a progressive tax in which individuals would be taxed based on their income.

Panel members varied on their solutions, but everyone on the panel seemed to agree on the problem: the current federal tax law. The panel wasn’t there to mince words; as Mitchell put it, “We can’t afford bad policy anymore. We want to make America a tax haven, we don’t want to make it a tax hell.” Mitchell argued for the Fair Tax in the '90s, but now supports a flat tax, which he said has received support from every interest group he has presented it to, with the exception of the tax lobbyists for Fortune 500 companies, who he said he believes make millions off of keeping the current system complicated.

Several times in the meeting, Nilon tried to take the attention off of Fortune 500 companies such as GE and focus on people living week to week.

“I’m not concerned about what GE is going to do [next quarter]; I care about my tax burden,” she said towards the end of the forum. Pierce agreed, and stressed that he wants to make “a level playing field” for taxpayers.

Boortz seemed to have the clearest plan for tax reform, or at least he had the most information available. He had a table full of leaflets and papers near the front door detailing the perceived effects of instituting the Fair Tax. One leaflet proclaimed the Fair tax will abolish the IRS. It also discussed a “prebate” through which the government would be unable to collect federal taxes on essential goods and services for American living in poverty.

Representative Buchanan believed that a small flat tax that is fair to small business would be an ideal replacement for our current system, pointing to the current economy in Hong Kong which recently lowered its flat tax. The need to create more jobs was at the top of his priorities for the forum, which he closed with the comment, “We need to focus on what’s right for the nation.”

The forum was well-received, with many members of the audience staying to greet the panel afterwards.