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Taxes

Taxes

Taxes are simply too high, and American families have less money to spend on their priorities. Rather than taking money from the hands of the middle class to pay for a large, overbearing federal government, I believe in letting hard-working taxpayers keep more of what they earn.  This would help strengthen our economy, stimulate job growth and force the government to make wiser spending decisions – all of which would benefit American families.

 

I have cosponsored several bills to provide tax relief to hard-working Americans, including bills to repeal the estate tax, reduce capital gains taxes, repeal the alternative minimum tax (AMT), extend the adoption tax credit, and, make permanent other important tax relief passed by Congress in 2001 and 2003.  Families and businesses can rest assured I will continue to support efforts to reduce taxes and put more money back in the pockets of American workers.

 

Also, as a small business owner, I understand the need to protect our nation’s small businesses and create opportunities for growth and economic prosperity.  I believe that less taxation and government regulation of private companies will continue to make America the best place in the world to do business.  For instance, the devastating effects of the death tax are suffered most by family owned small businesses and their employees.  Eliminating the death tax is one way Congress can help American family-owned businesses and family farms expand opportunity, create jobs and stimulate the economy.   

 

I am also a cosponsor of legislation to create Association Health Plans (AHPs) which would allow small businesses to join together through trade associations to purchase lower cost health insurance for their workers.  This legislation would increase small businesses’ bargaining power with health care providers, give them freedom from costly state-mandated benefit packages, and lower their overhead costs by as much as 30 percent.  These are all benefits that many large corporations and unions already have because of their larger economies of scale, and it’s time to give this same benefit to smaller businesses.

 

In my work as a former federal tax attorney, I saw firsthand that our nation’s tax laws are hard to understand and undermine the country’s prosperity by imposing needlessly harsh penalties on work, savings, and investments.  There are commonsense standards that should govern our nation’s tax system such as simplicity, fairness, and efficiency.  Unfortunately, those standards are far from being met and the U.S. tax code continues to result in a complicated mess for taxpayers every year.  Simplification of the tax code must be a priority.