A Pledge to America - Following Through on our Promise
Creating Jobs - Making America More Competitive by Ending Economic Uncertainty
If we've learned anything during the recession, it's that we cannot tax and spend our way to prosperity. The best way to get people working again is to rein in the growth of government and end the uncertainty facing small businesses. By addressing both issues, our plan revives free enterprise and moves America away from a debt-driven economy.
Encouraging Growth
Permanently Stop All Job-Killing Tax Hikes
We will help the economy by permanently stopping all tax increases, currently scheduled to take effect January 1, 2011. That means protecting middle-class families, seniors worried about their retirement, and the entrepreneurs and family-owned small businesses on which we depend to create jobs in America.
The Fight Continues... In December 2010, the House passed and the President signed into law a bill to prevent all tax hikes for two years. Our work continues to protect Americans from tax hikes that will destroy jobs.
Give Small Businesses a Tax Deduction
We will allow small business owners to take a tax deduction equal to 20 percent of their business income. This will provide entrepreneurs with a much-needed infusion of capital for investment and new hiring.
The Fight Continues... The House voted to not only to stop the tax hike set for next year but also establish a pathway to comprehensive tax reform next year – sending a clear signal to families, employers, and the financial markets that taxes will not go up on January 1, 2013. According to a study by Ernst and Young, the president's small business tax increase will destroy more than 700,000 jobs and reduce wages for average American workers by 2 percent. In 2010, a two-year extension of the 2001 and 2003 tax policies won broad bipartisan support including "yes" votes from 40 sitting Democratic Senators, 85 sitting Democratic House Members and President Obama. Prior to that vote, President Obama said "You don't raise taxes in a recession." House Republicans agree and will vote to provide certainty in our struggling economy by ensuring no families or small businesses are hit with a job destroying tax increase.
Rein in the Red Tape Factory in Washington, DC
Excessive federal regulation is a de facto tax on employers and consumers that stifles job creation, hampers innovation and postpones investment in the economy. When the game is always changing, small businesses cannot properly plan for the future. To provide stability, we will require congressional approval of any new federal regulation that has an annual cost to our economy of $100 million or more. This is the threshold at which the government deems a regulation “economically significant.” If a regulation is so “significant” and costly that it may harm job creation, Congress should vote on it first.
The Fight Continues... The House voted to curb job destroying regulations by passing the REINS Act (H.R. 10) which requires Congress to review any new regulations from the White House that would cost businesses more than $100 million. Under current law, Congress can prevent a rule from taking effect by enacting a joint resolution of disapproval. H.R. 10 would require enactment of a joint resolution of approval prior to any major rule taking effect. As of 2008, Federal regulations cost our economy $1.75 trillion each year, as estimated by the Small Business Administration.
Repeal Job-Killing Small Business Mandates
One of the most controversial mandates of the Democrats' government takeover of health care requires small businesses to report to the Internal Revenue Service any purchases that run more than $600. This 1099 reporting mandate is so overbearing that the IRS ombudsman has determined that the agency is ill-equipped to handle all the resulting paperwork. We will repeal this job-killing small business mandate.
Promise FulfilledThis Promise was Fulfilled on March 3, 2011
With the passage of H.R. 4, The Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act of 2011, an expansion currently scheduled to take effect in 2012 of information that businesses must report to the Internal Revenue Service on Form 1099 was repealed.
Vote Result  •  Text of the Bill [PDF]
Related Sections
Status
Additional Resources
The House Republican Plan for America's Job Creators: Read about the plan here»
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