Congressman Bilirakis takes very seriously the direction of our nation's tax policy. As a steward of your tax dollars, he believes it is important that Congress focus on cutting spending and government waste over policies that raise taxes or expand government programs.

Tax Policy

That is why he supports the extension of several tax relief packages passed by Congress between 2001 and 2006. Many of the provisions in these packages are scheduled to sunset (revert to previous levels) at the end of 2010, including P.L. 107-16, which reduced marginal income tax rates, provided marriage tax penalty relief, provided temporary relief from the alternative minimum tax (AMT), and increased the child tax credit.

In an effort to reform existing tax law and provide tax relief, Gus has co-sponsored several pieces of legislation, H.R. 1112, which would provide AMT relief, H.R. 1421, which would eliminate the marriage penalty in all income tax brackets and make permanent increases in the child tax credit, and H.R. 25, which would abolish the Internal Revenue Service, repeal the income tax, employment tax, estate and gift tax, and enact a national sales tax.

Gus believes that responsible tax policy can only be conducted in a climate of fiscal responsibility. That means any measure involving the spending of your tax dollars requires careful review and the proper scrutiny by Congress. It also means that America’s budget needs to be balanced and not based on the misguided logic of ‘tax-and-spend.’ For this reason, Bilirakis has co-sponsored H.J. Res. 1, proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution that (with certain conditions) would prohibit the outlays for a fiscal year from exceeding total receipts for that fiscal year.

Finally, Gus has signed the Americans for Tax Reform pledge which states that I will “oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rates for individuals and/or businesses” and “oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates.”

Appropriations Requests

Fiscal Year 2009 Appropriations Requests for Local Projects