Taxing Sales under the FairTax – What Rate Works?

We are indebted to David Burton and Karen Walby for very valuable comments and to Douglas Giuffre for his excellent research assistance. As specified in Congressional bill H.R. 25/S. 25, the FairTax is a proposal to replace the federal personal income tax, corporate income tax, payroll (FICA) tax, capital gains, alternative minimum, self-employment, and estate and gifts taxes with a single-rate federal retail sales tax. The FairTax also provides a prebate to each household based on its demographic composition. The prebate is set to ensure that households pay no taxes net on spending up to the poverty level