Bob Barr Cites Anniversary of Proposition 13, Calls for New Tax Revolt

Thirty years ago this week California voters passed Proposition 13, “inspiring an entire generation of advocates of individual liberty and limited government,” notes Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president. It was a true people’s revolt against the entire political establishment—politicians, lobbyists, interest groups, and unions.

“We need a similar popular revolt today,” says Barr. Tax Freedom Day wasn’t until April 23 this year, meaning that on average Americans spent almost four months just to pay their taxes. That isn’t the end of the burden: “it also took six billion hours to comply with Uncle Sam’s dictates,” notes Barr.

“We must both reduce and simplify taxes,” he adds. That could mean replacing the income tax with a consumption tax. It could mean a low, flat income tax. But, he emphasizes, “the bottom line is that taxes are too high and too complex. It’s time for Americans to say that they are mad and aren’t going to take it anymore, just like they did in California three decades ago.”