Tennessee resolution calls for national retail sales tax, elimination of other taxes

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--The Tennessee House of Representatives has passed a resolution urging Congress to eliminate the personal income tax and a host of others in lieu of a national retail sales tax.

HJR0017 was passed on Thursday by a vote of 69-22 in the Tennessee house. The resolution, sponsored by Rep. Jake McCalmon (R-Franklin-D63), cites Tennessee's own success without a personal income tax. The resolution states "Tennessee's reliance on the retail sales tax (consumption tax) since 1947 and elimination of the state personal income tax has proven successful in attracting an ever increasing number of businesses moving operations and facilities to Tennessee, creating substantial additional jobs."

The resolution goes on to state "Tennessee is a model that demonstrates the success of the consumption tax versus the repressive and suppressive effects on individual production and savings as a result of income taxes." The resolution then calls on Congress to pass H.R.25, otherwise known as the Fair Tax Act of 2023, which would eliminate nut just personal income tax, but also the alternative minimum tax, the inheritance tax, the gift tax, the capital gains tax, the corporate income tax, the self-employment tax, and the employee and employer payroll tax, replacing them with the retail sales tax nationally.

The newest version of the Fair Tax Act of 2023 has been introduced in the current Congress, with the same bill number but titled as the Fair Tax Act of 2025, sponsored by Earl "Buddy" Carter (R-GA-1).

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