Since coming to Congress in 1996, Congressman Blumenauer has based his fiscal policies on five basic principles:

• Fair tax relief for Americans;
• Funding commitments to our children, seniors, veterans, and the environment;
• Honoring our promises to present and future Social Security and Medicare recipients;
• Paying down our national debt; and
• Avoiding funding shortfalls for important national priorities.

Congressman Blumenauer continues to support a tax policy that is prudent and responsive to our nation’s challenges.  He is fighting to ensure that Congress moves towards a fiscal framework that is sustainable and is done with consideration of long-term consequences.  Congressman Blumenauer will continue to support changes to the most critical unresolved tax issues that will create fairness and fiscal stability.

Tax Relief Priorities
Irresponsible Tax Cuts
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Tax Relief Priorities

Congressman Blumenauer is working to reform the Alternative Minimum Tax, an increasingly burdensome tax which now affects millions of taxpayers. In a few short years, tens of millions of taxpayers will be penalized by additional taxes and more burdensome tax preparation.

Congressman Blumenauer is also working to fund important national environmental priorities.  Investing in America’s future by incubating sustainable energy resources, encouraging denser urban growth, and protecting America’s open space are all key priorities that tax reform can help achieve and will pay dividends to taxpayers.  Congressman Blumenauer is working to integrate these concepts into the tax code.

Currently the Medicare system is dramatically shortchanging Oregon and other states billions of dollars a year. Until the federal government stops penalizing Oregon and other low-cost states for being efficient, the Medicare payroll tax should be reduced.

Congressman Blumenauer supports fair and equal treatment for lower income families, who pay federal tax but were not provided the childcare tax credit.

Irresponsible tax cuts

Congressman Blumenauer strongly opposes the tax cuts imposed by the Bush Administration and opposes any effort to make them permanent.  If the cuts are made permanent, the top 1% of households (currently those with annual incomes exceeding $450,000) will receive more than $1.1 trillion in tax cuts over the next ten years.  The cost of these tax cuts to the wealthy will exceed the total amount the federal government devotes to K-12 and vocational education.

Related Articles

• November 18, 2010 - Blumenauer Highlights More Than $1 Million in Undeliverable IRS Refunds Owed to Oregon Families

  More Than 1,200 Refund Checks to Oregon Residents Have Been Returned as Undeliverable Blumenauer: “Families Waiting On Their Refunds Must Update Their Address With The IRS.” Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Earl Blumenauer released an annual report from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on undeliverable refunds in Oregon. The report, which covers refund checks returned to the IRS due to refund errors, indicates that 1,203 taxpayers in Oregon are owed refunds totaling $1,104,238 – an average of nearly $1,000 each.

  
  
• September 23, 2010 - Blumenauer Responds to False Claims of a 3.8% Tax on Home Sales

  Recent rumors about a 3.8% home sales tax in the Affordable Care Act are false.

  
  
• September 23, 2010 - Blumenauer Applauds Passage of Small Business Lending Bill

  Washington, DC – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed H.R. 5297, the Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010, providing both targeted tax breaks and new lending opportunities to small businesses to help them grow and add jobs. The bill now goes to President Obama for his signature.

  
  
• August 31, 2010 - Congressman Blumenauer Meets with Local Distillers

  Congressman Blumenauer last week met with several SE Portland small distillery business owners to discuss the unique challenges facing the industry (notably an excise tax that can force artisan distilleries like these to pay five to seven times more than small breweries) and took a tour of the New Deal Distillery. Distillery Row is a collection of four distilleries in inner, industrial SE Portland that house multiple labels and distillers. They also operate a “one stop shop” website for culinary type tourists interested in tasting liquor as an alternative for folks who enjoy wine tasting. Participants in the roundtable included Artisan Spirits, House Spirits, Stone Barn Brandyworks, Integrity Spirits, Deco Distilling, New Deal Distillery, and Highball Distillery.

  
  
• July 30, 2010 - House Republicans Defeat Tax Relief for Small Businesses – Continue to Protect Tax Breaks for Companies that Ship Jobs Overseas

  Washington, DC – Today Republicans in the House of Representatives defeated legislation that would have provided nearly $20 billion in tax relief to small businesses and closed loopholes that encourage companies to ship jobs overseas.  The measure, H.R. 5982, is something Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-ore) has been working to advance.