The issue of the so-called “Fair Tax” erupted Friday in the 3rd U.S. House District race between Republican Kevin Yoder and Democrat Stephene Moore.

Yoder of Overland Parks says he doesn’t support the “Fair Tax” proposal, but the Kansas Democratic Party posted a video on youtube that shows a “Fair Tax” official saying that Yoder personally told him that he did support the proposal.

The “Fair Tax” is a plan to eliminate federal personal and corporate income taxes and replace them with a 23 percent national sales tax.

In the video, John Collett, a director with Americans for Fair Taxation, said Yoder told him that he will sponsor the “Fair Tax” measure if elected. Collett added that Yoder didn’t want to make the “Fair Tax” a campaign issue because he would have to spend money to fight attacks from Moore on the issue.

Moore of Lenexa opposes the “Fair Tax” and her campaign issued a statement saying that Yoder was trying to hide from voters his support of it.

Opponents of the measure say the “Fair Tax” wouldn’t be fair but would hurt middle-income families. In Kansas, they say, middle-income families would see their taxes increase by $2,369 per year, while the wealthiest 1 percent in the country would see their taxes cut by $225,000.

In response to Moore’s statement, Yoder issued a statement saying that the “Fair Tax” movement was the product of frustration with the tax code. “While I do support thorough reforms to our broken tax code, I have never supported the Fair Tax. Even more importantly, I don’t trust Washington to do away with the income tax which is the fundamental principle of the Fair Tax,” he said.

Yoder’s campaign said Collett was mistaken when he said Yoder supported the “Fair Tax.” A telephone message left with Collett was not immediately returned.

The 3rd District includes eastern Douglas, Johnson and Wyandotte counties.