Economics Chair Testifies before House Ways and Means
Economics Professor and Department Chair David Tuerck testified on the FairTax before the House Ways and Means Committee on July 26 in Washington D.C.
The committee was hearing testimony about alternative tax systems as Congress and the White House battled over the debt limit and how to address government spending over the long term.
Tuerck, executive director of the Beacon Hill Institute, and Boston University Economics Professor Laurence J. Kotlikoff presented research about the option of a single-rate federal retail sales tax. This tax would replace the federal income tax.
The two economists said that their proposed sales tax would be a progressive tax; taxpayers would no longer file federal tax returns; and government compliance costs would be significantly reduced.
“Compared with the existing federal tax system, the FairTax is a sure winner,” according to the testimony. “It’s more efficient, equitable, transparent, sustainable, and growth-and-jobs oriented. It will help revitalize investment, and with it, expand our economy, create jobs and bring in new revenues.”
Tuerck argued for the FairTax in a July 19 Op-ed in the Boston Globe, A fair solution to the budget crisis.
He also appeared before a congressional subcommittee in June, discussing project labor agreements.