Local Tea party plans to rally by river

Local Tea party plans to rally by river

Local tea party activists will reprise their anti-tax message at a rally today, scheduled to coincide with the traditional federal income tax deadline.

The third annual Tax Day Tea Party will talk about Constitutional government and public policy initiatives, said talk-radio show host Tony Powers, the event's organizer.

"The whole idea of this is to get people to come out and get educated on the issues," Powers said. "The Fair Tax is one of the big issues we'll be talking about."

The rally will kick off at 5 p.m. at Augusta's Riverwalk amphitheater with refreshments, entertainment and a long list of speakers. Those include former gubernatorial candidate Ray McBerry, 12th Congressional District candidate Ray McKinney and South Carolina congressman Bill Taylor, who last month sponsored legislation that would eliminate income tax in South Carolina.

Topics range from school choice and family values to debt and deficit reduction, health care and illegal immigration.

Powers said he hopes the group's message of less government and a simpler tax code will move people to contact senators and congressmen and ultimately influence their votes.

"We want to control spending and reduce the size and scope of government," Powers said. "We'd like to get back to capitalism, instead of socialism"

Besides the Fair Tax, the tea party supports deficit reductions, a balanced budget amendment and reducing government regulation, Powers said.

The traditional tax deadline of April 15 was pushed back to April 18 this year because of the federal Emancipation Day holiday.

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