Why we need tax reform today!
(Remarks at Americans for Tax Reform meeting, 5/5/2010, as prepared for delivery)
Americans know that we are “Taxed Enough Already.” That’s why so many
of us are standing up in protest against out-of-control government
spending. We know what is coming down the road. President Barack Obama
has already broken his promise not to raise any new taxes on the
middle class. The 2001 tax cuts will expire after the end of the year.
And the few tax credits Congress passed as part of the stimulus are at
an end.
In my district, people understand that taxes are necessary to pay for
needed services. People want to see our government invest in
infrastructure, and maintain the strength of our armed forces. People
want to protect Social Security and Medicare. Yet people also worry
about the effect that new taxes, high deficits and expanding
government control are having on jobs and our economy. That is no
contradiction. It is a call to action.
We are more aware today of taxes of all kinds because of three
factors: competition, corruption, and crisis. We are losing jobs
because of competition from other counties, states and countries with
lower taxes. We are suffering from a decline in government services
because of money lost through corruption. And we are worried that new
taxes will prolong our economic crisis for many more years. That is
why we want reform–now.
This could be a moment of great opportunity to pass sweeping tax
reforms that would simplify the tax code and lower the burden for
families and businesses. Indeed, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) has suggested
that we replace the enormous tax code with a simple, two-tier system
that could fit on the back of a postcard. As a representative in
Congress, I will support that proposal, along with necessary spending
cuts to balance the budget.
Yet the radical Congress we have today is moving in exactly the wrong
direction. The new deficit panel is already discussing ways to take
away more of what Americans earn. They are talking about a national
sales tax or Value Added Tax (VAT)–not instead of the income tax, but
on top of it. My opponent, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, even wants to take
away the tax credits we get for saving for our retirement in IRAs and
401(k) plans.
These new taxes threaten our economic recovery. I refuse to accept
that the American economy is doomed to high unemployment and slow
growth. Yet that what Congress is trying to force upon us, because it
lacks the will to cut spending and make sensible tax cuts that will
create new jobs. We can do better. We can use an investment tax credit
to get past this recession, for example. And we can begin to reform
our federal tax code.
We must start now. Already, the percentage of Americans who pay no
federal income tax at all is approaching 50 percent. That is not just
a threat to our economy, but to our democracy as well. As we move
closer to that tipping point, where only a minority of Americans are
contributing, we are seeing political divisions growing worse. The
politics of envy and resentment are taking over. We cannot allow that
to happen to our country.
I have signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge of Americans for Tax
Reform because I know that any increase in taxes on families and
businesses will be devastating to our economic recovery. We must cut
spending first, and rescue our entitlement programs from financial
ruin. All of us must be a part of the solution. That solution is not
high taxes and low growth. It is simple, effective tax reform to
increase freedom and opportunity.
