Tax Relief

The issue of Tax Relief affects all of us and dealing with it is an important part of my work in Congress.

I am committed to reducing the heavy burden of taxation on our nation's families and businesses.

Right now the system is too complex, too burdensome, and badly needs fundamental reform. Instead of increasing taxes, I believe we need to be providing incentives for individuals and small businesses to grow. I will work to reduce taxes on working families so that they may invest more of their hard-earned money in their own futures based on their needs and goals. Further, I pledge to work for targeted tax relief to enhance economic growth and the creation of new, high-paying jobs. I also will continue to support eliminating the marriage penalty, the death tax on farms and small businesses and the tax on Social Security benefits.

I voted in support of extending the “Bush Tax Cuts” which prevented taxes from rising for all American taxpayers on January 1, 2011. If this bill had not passed, every Kentucky taxpayer would have felt the results as paycheck tax withholding rates would have increased, the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit would have been eliminated, the marriage penalty would have been reinstated and the estate tax would have returned to a higher rate. My vote preserves those tax breaks and returns the estate tax to a reasonable level.

I have also voted to repeal the 1099 provision contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, sometimes referred to as “Obamacare.” This provision presented an unnecessary paperwork burden by requiring businesses to file forms with the IRS for many routine purchases of more than $600. This provision would disproportionately affect small businesses and could have led to numerous undeserved penalties and fines.