Tennesseans for Fair Taxation

Tennesseans for Fair Taxation (TFT) is a Tennessee political advocacy group advocating tax reform, particularly at the state level.

In Tennessee, food for human consumption is taxed at 5.5% (This was lowered from 6 to 5.5% in January 2008) and most other items of commerce at 7%, with local jurisdictions empowered to add as much as another 2.75% to this, making the overall sales tax rate in many jurisdictions, including the major urban areas, 8.25% on food and 9.75% on other items.

The counter-argument is made by groups such as Tennessee Tax Revolt First, that the overall burden of taxation imposed by all levels of government, including the federal government, shows that poorer Tennesseans, like poorer Americans in general, pay a lower share of their income in taxes overall than wealthy ones.

Hence it represents the only tax paid by undocumented aliens, drug dealers, pimps and prostitutes.

This makes Tennessee vulnerable to a host of tax avoidance schemes such as Delaware Holding Companies and Captive REITs.

Under combined reporting rules, as is used in 22 states currently, the parent company and all its related subsidiaries file a single, unified tax return, rendering the shifting of profits between affiliates meaningless, and thereby shutting down a host of tax loopholes at once.