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Tax Reform
Tax policy influences poverty and wealth, the federal budget, deficit gaps, federal debt, and annual spending on all federal programs. Congressman Kucinich favors a fair and progressive tax system. If you have question about your taxes, please visit the Services for You section of the website.
Tax Reform For Our Future
The American People's Dividend
Protecting Retired Teachers
Protecting Low Cost Airline Passengers
View press releases and related documents on tax reform
Tax Reform for our Future
There is a need for a more fair, simple, and adequate tax system. The 2001, 2002, and 2003 tax cuts have created a tax system that favors the wealthy more than the working class American family. These tax cuts have created a more complex tax code that is full of loopholes. Finally these tax cuts placed the federal treasury in record deficits with little indication of a turn around. The President’s anti-growth economic policies and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are adding to the deficit. The combination of these policies are bankrupting our nation.
In response, Congressman Kucinich introduced the Progressive Tax Act of 2003, in December of 2003. In Title I, the bill provides tax relief for workers and families:
- $1530 Payroll Tax Credit: A refundable tax credit for people who work, linked to what they paid in payroll taxes and phased out at higher incomes. This tax credit is simple, targeted to relieve a high tax burden, provides a stimulus effect, and encourages work.
- $2000 Simplified Family Credit: A refundable tax credit that simplifies the tax code by consolidating the EITC, Child Tax Credit, Additional Child Credit, and exemption for children into one Simplified Family Credit. This tax credit will simplify the tax code, provide greater transparency, provide extra work incentives, and a stimulus effect.
In Title II and Title III, the bill closes corporate loopholes and restores the federal budget:
- Restore integrity on tax system by closing corporate loopholes and setting tough penalties to prevent corporate tax shelter abuse.
- Restore most of the erroneous Bush tax cuts in the past three years that benefited the wealthy. Repeal other tax benefits that provide benefits only to the wealthy and have no stimulus effect.
The Progressive Tax Act of 2003 will provide a positive impact on the federal budget and deficit. It gives $87 billion per year to people with modest income and families in the middle class. The bill collects an additional $107 billion per year from the unfair Bush tax buts, corporate tax loopholes, and other inappropriate tax giveaways. The bill therefore raises a sum total of $20 billion per year that remains available for deficit reduction or new spending.
Congressman Kucinich has consistently voted against tax increases and has supported tax cuts and tax credits for a wide variety of purposes.
The American People’s Dividend
As Chairman of the Progressive Caucus, Congressman Kucinich advocated for a tax cut plan that would give every man, women, and child an equal tax dividend of $300. Unlike the tax relief passed into law, this plan would have given the top 1% of income earners, exactly 1% of the tax cut. Every person should benefit from a tax cut. Unfortunately, children and senior citizens were largely ignored by the tax rebate checks mailed in the summer of 2001.
Protecting Retired Teachers
In 1997, Congressman Kucinich voted against HR 2014 because it raised taxes on retired teachers by removing the tax exemption of TIAA/CREF pensions; and increased the cost of Medicare to senior citizens, by transferring $115 billion in Medicare costs to beneficiaries. Congressman Kucinich voted for an alternative bill that did not repeal the TIAA/CREF tax exemption; it gave capital gains tax relief on the sale of homes, family businesses and family farms; increased the exclusion from taxation of estates, and gave a tax credit on education expenses and child care.
Protecting Low Cost Airline Passengers
Congressman Kucinich opposed a tax increase on airline passengers of low-cost carriers. The provision shifted tax burden from passengers of expensive airlines to those of low-cost airlines by shifting tax collection from being a fixed tax rate on the price of tickets to a mixture of a fixed rate plus a per segment fee.
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