The Red and Black

Issue date: 9/15/09 Section: News

John Oxendine, Republican candidate for Georgia governor, speaks to the UGA Law Republicans on Monday. [Click to enlarge]

If John Oxendine succeeds in his bid for Georgia's governor seat, he's going to become a very busy man.

Oxendine shared his vision for Georgia's future with the University Law Republicans Monday. It includes a reworking of the state's "neglected" transportation system, an end to the inter-state water wars and the elimination of the state's income tax.

One of the biggest efforts Oxendine said he planned to embrace as governor is the nationwide push to overhaul the federal tax code, namely, eliminating state and federal income taxes.

"I think it's very hypocritical for state officials to be running around bad mouthing the federal government for having an income tax when the state of Georgia does the same [thing]," Oxendine said. "As governor, I want to get rid of the state income tax."

Oxendine said Georgia should lead the charge to implement the Fair Tax, a plan for replacing the federal income tax with a progressive national retail tax.

To do this, Oxendine said states must show the federal government the tax plan can work by implementing it themselves.

On the national level, Oxendine said installing the Fair Tax starts with repealing the 16th Amendment, which gives the federal government the ability to collect an income tax.

"To really make the Fair Tax work, you need to eliminate the income tax," Oxendine said, "because I don't trust Congress to adopt the Fair Tax and get rid of the income tax - they might try to double dip and [use] both."

When asked by The Red & Black about the likelihood of the 16th Amendment being repealed, Oxendine expressed optimism that the people could change it if Congress wouldn't.

"We're going to have to put some heat on Washington, we're going to have to scare Congress," he said. "If they think the people are actually serious about repealing the 16th Amendment ... they'll probably just do it themselves real quick."

Oxendine said anger over President Barack Obama's policies might push people to take action on other things such as the tax code changes.

But Walter Hellerstein, University professor of law, said repealing the 16th Amendment is no small task.

"It's a fairly cumbersome procedure," Hellerstein said. "Of the few amendments that have been added [to the Constitution], most weren't very controversial."

Hellerstein said without a significant set of changes to the tax code, the loss of an income tax on the state or federal level would not be a good idea, "unless you want to eliminate basic government services."

He said he doesn't see that idea coming to fruition any time soon.

"Any thought that you could persuade three-fourths of the states to repeal the 16th amendment - which is a constitutional necessity - is sheer fantasy," Hellerstein said.

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