From what I’ve heard and read, Fred is amenable to it, it’s just not in his plan this go-around.

Disclaimer: I’m voting for Fred Thompson, because he’s the only consistant Conservative.

Brian, my bad, I should have stayed for the entire session instead of relying on FairTax.org FAQ (I understand that there are separate bills):

[QUOTE]Could we end up with both the FairTax and an income tax?
No current supporter of the FairTax would support the FairTax unless the entire income tax is repealed. Moreover, concurrent with the repeal of the income tax, a constitutional amendment repealing the 16th Amendment and prohibiting an income tax will be pushed through Congress for ratification by the states (filed as HJR 16 in the 110th Congress).[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE]Is there any provision in the FairTax bill to prevent both an income tax and a sales tax?
The short answer is that there is no provision in the FairTax bill (HR 25) that would prevent having a national sales tax and the income tax. However, the FairTax legislation does three things that effectively dismantle the income tax: (1) it abolishes the IRS, (2) it repeals all statutory language having to do with taxing income and payroll (i.e., the Internal Revenue Code), and (3) it eliminates the filing of annual income tax returns to the federal government for over 140 million Americans. The 16th Amendment does not “require” an income tax, it only “allows” one, and the FairTax will have broken that egg in a million pieces. It would be extremely difficult to put that egg “back together again.”
…
Furthermore, the sponsors of the FairTax are totally dedicated to the permanent repeal of the income tax. No current supporter of the FairTax would support the FairTax unless the entire income tax is repealed. There is a separate bill, HJR 16, which repeals the 16th Amendment to the Constitution but it must go through a different adoption process than HR 25. HJR 16 has to be passed by a two-thirds vote of members of both the House and the Senate and be approved (or ratified) by three-fourths of state legislatures (38).[/QUOTE]

What support is there for the ridiculously named “optional flat tax” on the grassroots or in Congress? Virtually none. The FairTax is the most broadly supported tax reform in Congress and on the ground. By virtue of that reality I would suggest that it would be faster and easier to pass.

Fred’s embrace of the FairTax has been fleeting. He was caught on a video clip saying he would sign it, but his campaign tried to distance him from the bill. I’ve heard from at least one person close to his campaign that Thompson has problems with the FairTax as written.

I’m telling you, Thompson’s choice to offer up lackluster, middling tax reform is not a good sign for his campaign or the GOP in general. The party is lagging the Democrats badly on nearly every front and they need to be bold to avoid another sobering election day.

What legislation is required to implement Thompson’s simplified tax plan? - regular Congressional legislation…

What legislation is required to implement the ‘Fair Tax’? - Repeal the ‘16th Amendment’, Pass the ‘Fair Tax’ Constitutional Amendment…

Which one is easier and faster to accomplish?

Maybe Fred is taking the ‘lazy’ route - trying to fix what he can… I see this is a ’stopgap’ measure to take while the ‘Fair Tax’ process continues… Fred stated he would sign the ‘Fair Tax’.