Bradley in DC
06-26-2007, 12:24 AM
http://www.gambling911.com/Ron-Paul-Iowans-for-Tax-Relief-062607.html
Ron Paul: Iowans for Tax Relief Prove They Are Not Credible
In a stunning twist of events this week, the Iowans for Tax Relief (ITR) are holding a Presidential Forum in the Hy-Vee Hall in Des Moines, IA and only one presidential candidate from the nationally televised debates was NOT invited. Who is this man? Ron Paul, the best friend the American taxpayer has in Washington DC.
Congressman Ron Paul has been recognized as a top advocate for taxpayers in the U.S. Congress for the tenth year in a row, earning the nonpartisan National Taxpayers Union’s annual award as a ”Taxpayers’ Friend” for 2006. In what might be called the most ironic reason for not doing something, Ed Failor, Executive Vice President claims the reason for the decision is that Ron Paul is not a "credible" candidate.
Mr. Failor claimed in an interview on WHO New Radio 1040, that the ITR along with the Iowa Christian Alliance put this event together months ago, and they just had to "draw the line" somewhere. It seems, paridoxically, that line excluded Congressman Ron Paul who has actively worked to eliminate the IRS and end the Income Tax completely and will continue do so if elected President. That line excluded Ron Paul who wants to end the Federal Reserve, an elite group of bankers that are able to print unlimited amounts of fiat money, weakening the dollar, raising prices, and hurting the poor and the middle class with this "inflation tax". Failor's line of "credible" demarcation stopped right before Ron Paul, who has never voted to raise taxes, never voted for an unbalanced budget, never voted to raise congressional pay, and has never voted for any form of government spending not authorized by the Constitution.
So why would a group called the Iowans for Tax Relief do such a strange thing? Let's start with the fact that Ed Failor was the one doing the interview. Currently, Ed Failor is the Senior Advisor to the John McCain campaign, has donated $1,000 to his campaign and was supposed to be on leave from the ITR so there would not appear to be a conflict of interest. So much for that idea.
Now on to their stated (but not so credible) reasons: 1. They claim they decided months ago who was and who was not going to be a credible candidate. The campaign season has only just started. Did they make this decision before or after the debates started? (Ron Paul announced he was running prior to the first televised debate and has taken part in every such event). Did they choose based on how well those candidates did in the debates? Both Fox News and CNN showed Paul polling in either first or second place in their debates. (Dozens of other GOP Internet polls also show Dr. Paul leading; he has been taking the Internet by storm, and some prominent search engines state that "Ron Paul" is the most searched term placing him ahead of even Paris Hilton.) 2. Did they choose based on space? It seems every other candidate who has participated in the televised debates from either party was invited, but only six accepted; by my math that leaves a lot of empty chairs that could be filled. 3. Ed Failor's fallback position: Hey, they made a decision and by golly they are going to stick to it no matter what the polls show; no matter how many people called in and requested Dr. Paul's presence; no matter how low the polling of the other "credible" candidates goes; and no matter how many seats remain empty.
Perhaps it is the Iowans for Tax Relief that are not credible.
Further investigation reveals that the Iowans for Tax Relief may not exactly be seeking tax relief for all.
On the home page of the Iowans for Tax Relief, they have a plan for tax reform in Iowa, http://www.taxrelief.org/PDFs/DM%20Register%205-20-07.pdf
Here are some of its gems:
Iowans should sweep away many of the exemptions and credits and return to taxing property based on its market value.
Iowa could raise the sales tax by a penny. (A sales tax that the ITR presumptively claims that "people don't mind paying to relieve the property tax they hate." Do they assume this holds true for the poorest non-property owners as well?.)
Why are they excited about adding more of a burden to sales? Leaders could earmark part of the new sales-tax revenue for special projects. I doubt that will include building a deck in your backyard.
What other experts cited in the reform plan say about taxes:
According to Ed Wallace of the Iowa Tax Payers: The group opposes changing the way corporations are taxed. The group is also "willing" to consider eliminating a huge tax deduction: deducting what Iowans pay in federal taxes from their state taxes. Because of this deduction Iowans have a higher listed tax rate than they would in this other system. The group thinks the appearance of higher taxes makes Iowa less attractive for business.
Who else does the ITR cite? David Osterberg of the Iowa Policy Project writes that "While some may complain about one tax being too high, that is offset by other taxes being lower than they are in other states. For example, Business taxes are low. Corporate income taxes are a fourth of what they were 20 years ago.
What did these important groups manage to help influence in the 2007 legislative session? The governor and the lawmakers did a few things related to taxes: They raised the cigarette tax. They enacted a tax-amnesty plan to let people settle back taxes without penalty, and they may have set the stage for a gas-tax increase next year. Naturally, they blame it all on the Democrats, but this "tax relief" organization never addresses or seeks to reduce the cause of taxes: unnecessary government spending. With tax friends like these who needs enemies?
Others have noticed how uncredible the ITR appears to be. Roth and Company, P.C., a tax advisor out of Des Moines Iowa, has written a scathing article that claims the Iowans for Tax Relief has a name that "belies its purpose." They claim that ITR supports special interest carve-outs and corporate welfare tax subsidies that shrink the tax base and raise the taxes for the rest of the people.
http://www.rothcpa.com/archives/001719.php
So how did Ron Paul react to being not invited? The way all kids who are not a part of the In-Crowd should. In a stroke of genius, the Ron Paul campaign responded to this attempt to silence him and prevent Iowans from hearing his message by holding a party of his own. As soon as the Presidential Forum is over, Ron Paul has rented out Room C at the same Hy-Vee hall to share his message of freedom, peace, and prosperity. The Ron Paul rally will start immediately following the conclusion of the Presidential Candidates Forum sponsored by "those other guys" at approximately 4:30 pm. The public is invited. Food and beverage will be provided to the first 500 people who arrive.
A very "credible" response to the shenanigans of an increasingly non-credible organization; Iowans for Tax Relief.
Ron Paul: Iowans for Tax Relief Prove They Are Not Credible
In a stunning twist of events this week, the Iowans for Tax Relief (ITR) are holding a Presidential Forum in the Hy-Vee Hall in Des Moines, IA and only one presidential candidate from the nationally televised debates was NOT invited. Who is this man? Ron Paul, the best friend the American taxpayer has in Washington DC.
Congressman Ron Paul has been recognized as a top advocate for taxpayers in the U.S. Congress for the tenth year in a row, earning the nonpartisan National Taxpayers Union’s annual award as a ”Taxpayers’ Friend” for 2006. In what might be called the most ironic reason for not doing something, Ed Failor, Executive Vice President claims the reason for the decision is that Ron Paul is not a "credible" candidate.
Mr. Failor claimed in an interview on WHO New Radio 1040, that the ITR along with the Iowa Christian Alliance put this event together months ago, and they just had to "draw the line" somewhere. It seems, paridoxically, that line excluded Congressman Ron Paul who has actively worked to eliminate the IRS and end the Income Tax completely and will continue do so if elected President. That line excluded Ron Paul who wants to end the Federal Reserve, an elite group of bankers that are able to print unlimited amounts of fiat money, weakening the dollar, raising prices, and hurting the poor and the middle class with this "inflation tax". Failor's line of "credible" demarcation stopped right before Ron Paul, who has never voted to raise taxes, never voted for an unbalanced budget, never voted to raise congressional pay, and has never voted for any form of government spending not authorized by the Constitution.
So why would a group called the Iowans for Tax Relief do such a strange thing? Let's start with the fact that Ed Failor was the one doing the interview. Currently, Ed Failor is the Senior Advisor to the John McCain campaign, has donated $1,000 to his campaign and was supposed to be on leave from the ITR so there would not appear to be a conflict of interest. So much for that idea.
Now on to their stated (but not so credible) reasons: 1. They claim they decided months ago who was and who was not going to be a credible candidate. The campaign season has only just started. Did they make this decision before or after the debates started? (Ron Paul announced he was running prior to the first televised debate and has taken part in every such event). Did they choose based on how well those candidates did in the debates? Both Fox News and CNN showed Paul polling in either first or second place in their debates. (Dozens of other GOP Internet polls also show Dr. Paul leading; he has been taking the Internet by storm, and some prominent search engines state that "Ron Paul" is the most searched term placing him ahead of even Paris Hilton.) 2. Did they choose based on space? It seems every other candidate who has participated in the televised debates from either party was invited, but only six accepted; by my math that leaves a lot of empty chairs that could be filled. 3. Ed Failor's fallback position: Hey, they made a decision and by golly they are going to stick to it no matter what the polls show; no matter how many people called in and requested Dr. Paul's presence; no matter how low the polling of the other "credible" candidates goes; and no matter how many seats remain empty.
Perhaps it is the Iowans for Tax Relief that are not credible.
Further investigation reveals that the Iowans for Tax Relief may not exactly be seeking tax relief for all.
On the home page of the Iowans for Tax Relief, they have a plan for tax reform in Iowa, http://www.taxrelief.org/PDFs/DM%20Register%205-20-07.pdf
Here are some of its gems:
Iowans should sweep away many of the exemptions and credits and return to taxing property based on its market value.
Iowa could raise the sales tax by a penny. (A sales tax that the ITR presumptively claims that "people don't mind paying to relieve the property tax they hate." Do they assume this holds true for the poorest non-property owners as well?.)
Why are they excited about adding more of a burden to sales? Leaders could earmark part of the new sales-tax revenue for special projects. I doubt that will include building a deck in your backyard.
What other experts cited in the reform plan say about taxes:
According to Ed Wallace of the Iowa Tax Payers: The group opposes changing the way corporations are taxed. The group is also "willing" to consider eliminating a huge tax deduction: deducting what Iowans pay in federal taxes from their state taxes. Because of this deduction Iowans have a higher listed tax rate than they would in this other system. The group thinks the appearance of higher taxes makes Iowa less attractive for business.
Who else does the ITR cite? David Osterberg of the Iowa Policy Project writes that "While some may complain about one tax being too high, that is offset by other taxes being lower than they are in other states. For example, Business taxes are low. Corporate income taxes are a fourth of what they were 20 years ago.
What did these important groups manage to help influence in the 2007 legislative session? The governor and the lawmakers did a few things related to taxes: They raised the cigarette tax. They enacted a tax-amnesty plan to let people settle back taxes without penalty, and they may have set the stage for a gas-tax increase next year. Naturally, they blame it all on the Democrats, but this "tax relief" organization never addresses or seeks to reduce the cause of taxes: unnecessary government spending. With tax friends like these who needs enemies?
Others have noticed how uncredible the ITR appears to be. Roth and Company, P.C., a tax advisor out of Des Moines Iowa, has written a scathing article that claims the Iowans for Tax Relief has a name that "belies its purpose." They claim that ITR supports special interest carve-outs and corporate welfare tax subsidies that shrink the tax base and raise the taxes for the rest of the people.
http://www.rothcpa.com/archives/001719.php
So how did Ron Paul react to being not invited? The way all kids who are not a part of the In-Crowd should. In a stroke of genius, the Ron Paul campaign responded to this attempt to silence him and prevent Iowans from hearing his message by holding a party of his own. As soon as the Presidential Forum is over, Ron Paul has rented out Room C at the same Hy-Vee hall to share his message of freedom, peace, and prosperity. The Ron Paul rally will start immediately following the conclusion of the Presidential Candidates Forum sponsored by "those other guys" at approximately 4:30 pm. The public is invited. Food and beverage will be provided to the first 500 people who arrive.
A very "credible" response to the shenanigans of an increasingly non-credible organization; Iowans for Tax Relief.