Taxes
American families and small businesses are taxed too much, and the system through which we collect these taxes is overly burdensome, too complex and fundamentally unfair in many respects.
Today’s tax code has not only grown ridiculously long but our yearly tax bill continues to get more expensive. According to the National Taxpayers Union, the total compliance cost for filing federal income tax forms added up to $227.1 billion, or nearly 1.5 percent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2011. To make matters worse, the enforcement of the nation’s tax system falls to the scandal-ridden Internal Revenue Service (IRS), an agency that was previously exposed for purposefully targeting conservative and religious groups seeking tax-exempt status. While House Republicans have led efforts to keep the IRS accountable ever since, Americans rightly remain uneasy about where their hardworking tax dollars are going.
Without question, fundamental and comprehensive tax reform is needed and that is why I support legislation that drastically simplifies the tax code, closes tax loopholes, consolidates the six tax brackets into two and repeals the Alternative Minimum Tax. Personally, I favor a flat tax, but I am open to other proposals that reform our tax system by making it simpler and more transparent.