I believe it is imperative that we reduce the enormous tax burden Americans currently labor under. Raising taxes takes money out of the pockets of hardworking Americans and job creators. The only thing worse than raising taxes is doing so under difficult economic conditions, as President Obama proposes. Allowing our existing tax rates to expire will cause the largest tax increase in America’s history, which is why I cosponsored legislation to permanently extend the 2001 and 2003 tax relief provisions.
The American people know better than their government how to spend their own hard-earned money. We need to overhaul the current tax system and implement comprehensive reform. To that end, I am proud to have once again reintroduced the SMART Act – the Simplified, Manageable and Responsible Tax Act. This legislation seeks to ultimately establish a flat income tax of 17 percent on all income and places real spending limits on government.
At the same time, it is critical that we rein in the significant debt the Obama Administration has piled on future generations. Currently, the Alabama-household share of the $12 trillion national debt is $113,293. This number is likely to increase even further under the new unsustainable health care entitlement. Over the next 10 years, there will be roughly $8,470 in new government spending for every American. Much of this cost will be brought to bear upon small businesses who employ more than 25 percent of the total workforce. In fact, a National Federation of Independent Businesses survey revealed that the businesses most likely to face a tax increase employ between 20 and 250 employees.
To combat out-of-control government spending such as this, I have introduced a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution every Congress since joining the Senate in 1987. As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, I also support Republican efforts to cap discretionary spending and restore fiscal responsibility to our government.
The largest incentive for economic recovery is to lessen the tax burden for all Americans. I will continue to work to ensure that tax dollars are put back into the pockets of the American taxpayer rather than the coffers of the American government.
To learn more about the impact the President's tax increase would have on the state of Alabama, please click here.