Subject:
Tax Reform
To:
Rep. George Miller
November 1, 2009
The Democratic leadership of the house were right in your 2004 call for immediate tax reform that is fair, simple, revenue neutral, and stimulates the economy. These requirements are complemented by a congressional tax committee report which states that tax reform is necessary, and... to be successful legislators must minimize administrative costs and apply low marginal tax rates to a broad economic base. The FairTax plan, H.R. 25 and S 296, meets and exceeds ALL of these requirements, and other desirable goals as well.
Since 2004 the tax code, economy, unemployment, and national debt have only gotten worse. America would much better served by passage of the FairTax than passage of the health reform bill on which an inordinate amount of time has been spent.....on a plan that most Americans do not want. On the other hand, ALL Americans want, and desperately need tax, relief.
The FairTax legislation, H.R. 25 and S. 296, meets and exceeds all of the stated requirements. Under the FairTax corporations pay no tax, making American companies about 20% more competitive on the international market, with no tax dollar investment, while individuals pay less tax due to an expanded tax base. The $13 Trillion dollars that American companies hold in off shore accounts will flood back to America, as verified by the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, which reduced the corporate tax rate for repatriated off shore funds from 35% to 5.25% for the year 2005. The congressional tax committee estimated that $200 billion would be repatriated. However, the IRS reported that 800 companies actually repatriated $362 billion, 1.8 times the estimate. Corporate investment increased by. 9.6%, the highest level in ten years. Corporate tax rate deduction has also proven effective in moving jobs and long term economic growth in Austria, Ireland, and Switzerland as well.
As a FairTax Volunteer, I find that many citizens are unaware of the tremendous benefits of the FairTax plan, but when informed, strongly favor the plan. Therefore, I urge the Democratic leadership to send the same letter, or even better, a strong endorsement for the FairTax legislation, to President Obama.
Sincerely,
Bobby L. Austin
Huntsville, AL 35806
austin5299@bellsouth.net
===================.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15, 2004
CONTACT: Brendan Daly/ Jennifer Crider
202-226-7616
Democratic Leaders Call on President Bush to Address Tax Simplification Now
Washington, D.C. -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following letter today from House Democratic leaders to President Bush on the need to act now on tax simplification. The President is meeting with his advisors today on the economy.
Text of the letter follows:
December 15, 2004
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President,
As we approach a new session of Congress, Democrats and Republicans agree that we must reform the tax code now. Recent statements by Administration officials indicate that you may postpone the appointment of a tax reform advisory panel and may delay sending Congress a proposal until 2006. We are writing to encourage you to act now so that tax reform can move us toward a system that is more fair, less complex, and that adequately funds the budget without perennial deficits.
Democrats are committed to the following principles:
• Fairness: Tax reform must not result in tax increases on middle-income families, and we must uphold our commitment to progressive taxation. Millions of middle-income Americans are paying more than their fair share as a result of an overly complicated, loophole-ridden tax code. This tax burden will only increase as more families are ensnared by the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). By 2010, the AMT is expected to hit 33 million taxpayers, up from just 1million in 1999. We believe that tax reform must include a long-term solution to protect middle-income taxpayers from the AMT's unintended consequences.
• Simplification: We must make the tax code far less complex. The tax code and its regulations currently span more than 60,000 pages, thousands of which have been added since the mid-1990s. It takes the average family nearly 7 1⁄2 hours longer to complete their tax return than it did in 1994, and tax changes made since 2001 have only served to further complicate the tax code. The following example illustrates how the current tax code is unnecessarily complex. Parents with children in college must choose between two nonrefundable tax credits and the higher education deduction, all of which are calculated differently with different income limits and phase-outs. Moreover, parents saving for their
children to attend college have to decipher three different saving mechanisms. It is a taxpayer's nightmare.
• Fiscal Responsibility: We must not add to the deficit; indeed, we must steadily reduce it. Revenue neutrality is especially important given the historic level of debt. Democrats are committed to reforming the tax code without burying our future under a mountain of national debt. We look forward to working with you on a bipartisan basis to simplify the tax code for all Americans. Together, we can create a tax system that reflects common values and creates a more vibrant
economy.
Thank you for your attention to our concerns.
Sincerely,
Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Leader
Steny H. Hoyer, Democratic Whip
Robert Menendez, Democratic Caucus Chairman
Charles B. Rangel, Ranking Member, Committee on Ways and Means
John M. Spratt, Jr., Ranking Member, House Budget Committee
George Miller, Ranking Member, Committee on Education and the Workforce
Rosa L. DeLauro, Co-Chair Steering and Policy
=========================.
Huntsville , AL
|
