SECSY PLAN: Frank Davis, Neal White and Jack Walsh, officers of the National Retail Sales Tax Alliance, finish a strategy session to reach America's youth through Simple and Easy, Common Sense for Youth (SECSY).

The question was put to a group of area youth at a recent forum discussion on federal income taxes. After a pause, Davis added, "Will you save it? Invest it? Spend it? Start thinking about it, because it's becoming more of a possibility."

The National Retail Sales Tax movement is gaining a lot of ground and is building momentum.

These organizations are seeking to abolish the income tax and replace it with a national sales tax.

There are more than eight national organizations supporting the National Retail Sales Tax in one form or another, with millions of supporters, said Neal White, president of the alliance.

"We founded NRSTA to unify the movement, and we are now gearing up for a new national campaign aimed at youth," he said. The new program is known as "SECSY" -- an acronym for Simple and Easy, Common Sense for Youth.

"We are explaining tax issues and terminology, which can be very simple and easy, and make complete sense, if explained well," Davis said.

The alliance has launched a campaign specifically targeting youth "because the under-30 population will benefit in many significant ways when the income tax is replaced with a National Retail Sales Tax," White said.

The tax alliance is encouraging young people, ages 17 to 29, to join, either through short-term internships or specific project opportunities. NRSTA staff members have begun organizing student briefing sessions to prepare them for visits with members of Congress and staff. "Students have the opportunity to see what lobbying is all about," Davis said.

The internships are not limited to business and government majors.

"It is important for every young adult to have the opportunity to understand tax issues," Davis said. In addition to hands-on experience, the SECSY program will include presentations to high school government classes.

"Teenagers who earn not much more than minimum wage, easily understand why we want them to get, say, $7 for every hour worked rather than $5.65," Davis said.

Davis offers an example of his typical introduction when speaking to youth: "What if someone came along and said to you, 'I have a deal for you. You send me $54 a week and maybe, after a year, I'll give some of it back to you -- that's $2,808 at the end of the year -- but first you have to fill out some paperwork to get it back. And, no, I'm not going to pay you any interest on it. And, if I find out you made extra money cutting grass or shoveling snow, and didn't report it, I'll not only not give it back to you, I'll put you in jail!'"

When Davis is questioned by college students majoring in economics he hands them a half dozen papers published by Dr. Dale Jorgenson, chairman of the department of economics at Harvard University.

Jorgenson's research overwhelmingly concludes significant economic benefits of replacing the federal income tax system with a National Retail Sales Tax. In testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee, Jorgenson revealed that the tax cost of government -- both the income tax and the cost of compliance -- is an average of 25 percent of the final retail cost of domestic goods and services.

"Everyone involved paid taxes -- the retailer that sold me the glasses, the company that bought the frames and lenses from a manufacturer, the frame manufacturer that bought the metal and plastic from a supplier, and the lens manufacturer who bought the glass from a supplier. Each of the companies involved in this process paid taxes and incurred compliance costs. That's called 'tax cascading' -- it's a tax upon a tax upon a tax."

Davis said he invariably will see "a light bulb go on" as he offers simplified explanations.

"It's a great feeling to see the younger generation grasp a tax issue," Davis said. "Once I explain the fundamentals of how a National Retail Sales Tax would affect their wallet, I can move on to how it will affect the economy and our nation's stability."

Another reason the new tax reform legislation is getting a big boost, according to NRSTA, is because accountants, tax lawyers and legislators are becoming disenchanted and frustrated with the current system.

U.S. Reps. Billy Tauzin (R-La.), James Traficant (D-Ohio), John Linder (R-Ga.) and Colin Peterson (D-Mn.) are leading the charge in Congress.

In June 1998, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to sunset the present income tax code effective Dec. 31, 2001, which would force Congress to act. That legislation was defeated in the U.S. Senate by one vote -- Vice President Al Gore's. The legislation has been reintroduced and will be voted on again this summer.

Davis said he believes the biggest reason we are seeing the dawning of a new age in tax reform is because of Congress.

The chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Bill Archer (R-Texas), has called upon the nation to "tear the income tax out by its roots, so it can never grow back again." Rep. Dick Armey (R-Texas), the House majority leader, and Tauzin have engaged in a series (34, at last count) of "Scrap the Code" debates across America.

Tauzin said, "Getting rid of the income tax system would benefit individual citizens, enhance the economy, and return lost freedoms. It would be a tremendous relief for Congress, because it would enable us to concentrate on critical issues rather than constantly 'tinkering' with the tax code. It would make April 15 just another beautiful spring day."

[top of page]

[Back to the Library page]