TAX DAY - A COMMENTARY

Dear Readers:

Once again, my Representative, Dr. Phil Roe,  from Tennessee with common sense suggestions:

Tuesday was Tax Day, the deadline for filing your taxes with the Internal Revenue Service. Earlier this week, a recent Gallup poll found that 52 percent of Americans say the amount they have to pay in federal income tax is too high.  Still, I believe the president and some Democrats in Congress seem to think the only way to get our $492 billion budget deficit under control is to raise taxes.

According to the Tax Foundation, this year’s Tax Freedom Day falls on April 21^st, three days later than last year.  This means that 100 percent of the money earned by American workers during the first 111 days of the year, from January 1^st to April 21^st goes toward taxes.  I don’t think we should ask anyone to pay more until the government is a better steward of tax dollars.

Washington doesn’t have a revenue problem-- Washington has a spending problem -- and raising taxes won’t curb our spending addiction.  Instead of debating whether or not we should raise taxes, we should instead focus on simplifying our tax code by closing loopholes; lowering taxes on individuals, families and businesses; and making it easier to file.  It takes the average American 13 hours to comply with the tax code.  Did you know that if you were to add the hours spent by every American taxpayer filing their taxes it would equal roughly 6.1 billion hours each year?

There is nothing fair about the federal government taking between 30 and 40 percent of your income, especially on top of all the other taxes you pay – like sales taxes, gas taxes, and state and local taxes.  Tax Day is a timely reminder that instead of increasing taxes, we should reform the tax code and pass legislation that will help small businesses to grow and let individuals and families keep more of what they earn.

Earlier this year, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp unveiled a draft blueprint for tax reform. Chairman Camp’s draft needs to be debated and further refined, but  reforming our tax code like this will help grow our economy, create jobs, increase wages and lower the tax burden on hardworking families.

There is no shortage of good ideas for tax reform.  For instance, we could use Tennessee as a model for tax reform, which is why I am a cosponsor of H.R. 25, the Fair Tax Act of 2013. The Fair Tax Act – which eliminates the income tax, payroll tax and estates tax and replaces it with a national sales tax – isn't just about taxes; it is about freedom, jobs, smaller government and the economy. It is about returning power to the people and finally finding a way to ensure America's economic growth.  It is about reining in the IRS and stripping the federal government of the opportunity to dig deeper and deeper in the American people's personal pocketbooks.

We need to put a stop to the outrageous government spending that has turned into outrageous government taxing.  Congress needs to fix the broken tax system and allow our workers and families to keep more of what they earn and save - while giving entrepreneurs and small businesses incentives to grow.  These are the best ways to stimulate the economy.