By: Stephenson H.C.R. No. 38       HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION          WHEREAS, History has demonstrated that the levying of income   taxes gives government too much power over citizens, and   accordingly, the nation's founding fathers did not impose a federal   income tax in the United States Constitution; and          WHEREAS, The nation's current income tax system, established   via the enactment of the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States   Constitution, is unfair and inequitable, and it unnecessarily   intrudes on the privacy and civil rights of U.S. citizens; it   imposes unacceptable and needless administrative and compliance   costs on individuals and businesses, and it requires individuals to   prepare annual tax returns using many complicated forms, resulting   in unintentional errors that are severely punished; in addition, it   hides the true costs of government by embedding taxes in the costs   of everything that Americans buy; compliance does not occur at   adequate levels, which raises the tax burden on law-abiding   citizens; and          WHEREAS, Hindering economic growth, the current tax system   diminishes the standard of living, impedes the international   competitiveness of industry, and lowers productivity; it slows the   capital formation necessary for real wages to steadily increase and   reduces savings and investment by taxing the same income multiple   times; moreover, it penalizes marriage and impedes upward social   mobility; and          WHEREAS, Federal payroll taxes, including social security   and Medicare payroll taxes and self-employment taxes, destroy jobs   by raising employment costs; these taxes lead to higher rates of   unemployment and have a disproportionately adverse impact on   lower-income Americans; and          WHEREAS, Federal estate and gift taxes impose unacceptably   high tax-planning costs on family-owned businesses and farms, and   families are often forced to sell their holdings in order to pay   them; furthermore, these taxes discourage capital formation and   entrepreneurship, fostering the continued dominance of large   enterprises over small, family-owned companies and farms; and          WHEREAS, In The Federalist No.21, published in 1787,   Alexander Hamilton wrote: "It is a signal advantage of taxes on   articles of consumption, that they contain in their own nature a   security against excess"; a broad-based national sales tax on goods   and services purchased for final consumption would promote   fairness, economic growth, and savings and investment; it would   raise the standard of living and improve upward social mobility by   enhancing productivity and international competitiveness and by   reducing administrative burdens on the American taxpayer; at the   same time, a national sales tax would respect the privacy interests   and civil rights of taxpayers; such a tax would be similar in many   respects to the sales and use taxes that are now authorized in 45 of   the 50 states; and          WHEREAS, Most of the practical experience in administering   sales taxes is found at the state level; accordingly, a national   retail sales tax could be efficiently implemented by fostering   administration and collection of a federal sales tax at the state   level, in return for a reasonable administration fee paid to the   states; coordinating federal and state collection and enforcement   efforts to the maximum extent possible would further contribute to   the smooth transition to a national retail sales tax; while   businesses would incur costs in collecting and remitting taxes,   they would receive reasonable compensation for their efforts; and          WHEREAS, In every respect, a national retail sales tax is   more equitable and advantageous than the present system of relying   on income taxes; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the 84th Legislature of the State of Texas   hereby urge the Congress of the United States to abolish the current   income-based system of taxation, to enact a national retail sales   tax, and to propose and submit to the states for ratification the   repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States   Constitution; and, be it further          RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official   copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to   the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of   Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the   members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that   this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a   memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.