| The
League of the South’s Position on Taxation:
The
following position statements reflect the League of the
South’s vision for a new Southern nation; however, as long
as the Southern people choose to remain within the present
union, we advocate the same positions in hopes that they will
alleviate somewhat the conditions of our present servitude.
TAXATION:
Current U.S. tax policy is tantamount to theft.
The massive confiscation and re-distribution of wealth
by the IRS through a graduated, progressive income tax has
undermined both the economic and social well being of the
country. Currently,
the average American pays over 40% of their income in one form
of taxation or another. The
League of the South advocates the total dismantling of the
present system of taxation, including all federal excise,
capital gains, inheritance, and compulsory payroll taxes.
In place of the current system, we propose the
following customs duties of no more than 20% on imported goods
(a revenue tariff) and a truly voluntary flat tax of no more
than 3% on all incomes to be collected annually by the revenue
departments of the several sovereign states.
This system will have two advantages over and above the
obvious ones: 1)
it will force the federal government to behave responsibly and
constitutionally or else risk losing the voluntary tax
compliance of its citizens – we believe that patriotic
citizens will happily contribute to a general government that
is constitutionally limited and recognizes that it is the
agent and the states are the principals in the original
compact of 1789; and 2) it will force the federal government
to acknowledge the sovereignty of the several states or risk
having the states withhold tax revenues from Washington.
Thus we have two levels of protection against an
abusive federal government – the individual taxpayer and the
sovereign state.
On
the state level, we propose that there be no taxes levied on
housing, land, capital gains, inheritance, and personal and
family incomes. Instead,
the states should generate revenue by a modest 2% sales tax on
all goods and services sold within their borders and a modest
tax on all corporations not headquartered within their
borders.
Postscript
on Tax Compliance:
While we cannot and do not wish to bind the individual
consciences of our members on the issue of tax compliance, the
League of the South, as an organization, does not advocate any
sort of tax evasion. We
are working toward a goal, that if successful, will take care
of this issue. We
will spend our time and energy formulating ideas to
restructure the present system while we operate within the
current political system.
Moreover, we will also formulate a fair and just tax
code for a new Southern nation.
This is a most serious issue.
The League of the South must not, and will not become a
vehicle for tax protestors.
There are other organizations that serve this purpose.
Our goal – Southern independence – must remain
uppermost in our minds. If
successful, this will allow us to institute changes that will
solve a number of current problems, including the one of
unfair taxation.
|