For Release: Wednesday, April 9, 1997

WASHINGTON, DC - With Americans working more than six months a year just to pay for the cost of government, US Representative Ron Paul is a principle cosponsor of a constitutional amendment to limit the rate of tax growth.

"What Americans need is not just the hope this amendment provides of limiting the future growth of taxes but Americans deserve real tax cuts right now," said Paul (R-Surfside, Texas). "This legislation is a small step in the right direction. With so many tax-and-tax-and-spend-and-spend types in government, it is imperative that the American people have a safeguard."

The Amendment will be considered by the full US House of Representatives on what Paul calls "one of the most feared days of the year" - April 15, Tax Day. The Tax Limitation Amendment requires a sixty percent super-majority of both the US House and the US Senate to increase taxes. Eleven states have tax limitation measures, and those state taxpayers have lower levels of taxes, more controlled governmental spending and more economic growth, than state without the provision.

"It's appropriate that as Americans see how much of their money is going into the bloated, unconstitutional mess that our federal government has become, that we in Congress try to limit more taxes from burdening the people," said Paul. "The American taxpayer can spend his or her money better than the federal bureaucrats. With fifty percent of their income going to pay the cost of federal, state and local government, Americans know that cutting taxes must be a top priority. The US economy, and the individuals in our nation, simply cannot shoulder any more taxes."

National public interest groups have joined Paul in supporting the amendment. The National Taxpayers Union, the National Tax Limitation Committee, Americans for Tax Reform and the National Federation of Independent Businesses have already endorsed the bill.

The National Taxpayers Union has named Paul "the taxpayers' best friend" for his consistent stand against taxes.