Tax Reform

I am a firm believer that American families can spend their hard-earned money more efficiently than the federal government. I believe that the first step in stimulating our economy is to implement legislation to provide tax relief for small businesses and middle-class families. I believe that we need to drastically decrease federal spending, instead of increasing it and burdening Illinois families with a higher price tag. Congress should be working to permanently put an end to the Death Tax and the Marriage Penalty, two tax policies that punish people solely for making natural progressions in life.

The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), a tax that originally ensured that around 150 of the wealthiest Americans paid their fair share of taxes, is estimated to affect almost 20 million Americans today. This extra burden was never intended to touch so many Americans and, I believe, should be done away with once and for all.

In addition, I support H.R. 25, the Fair Tax. This bill would abolish the Income, Estate and other taxes as well as the Internal Revenue Service, and would enact a national sales tax. I support a complete overhaul of our tax system in the United States. Current tax exemptions and loopholes are too complicated for the average citizen and they create a tempting environment for corruption for the more tax savvy individual or corporation.

I believe in letting you keep more of your hard earned money and, likewise, I will vote against tax increases that will only serve to inhibit the further growth of our economy. Hardworking taxpayers in this country are overburdened by taxes and I want to ease this burden. Families in Illinois are already feeling the strain of energy prices, decreasing home values, and increasing health care costs piled high on the back of a slowing economy. The last thing we need is to pay more taxes. This is bad policy not only for individuals and families, but for our economy as well. I will continue to work for lower taxes and will support other policies that create more economic opportunities for hard-working Americans.