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Washington, DC: Today, the day before federal income taxes are due, Congressman Bob Goodlatte discussed the importance of meaningful tax reform.
The current federal tax code is broken beyond repair and it is obvious that tax reform is absolutely necessary. In their 2006 Annual Report to Congress, the National Taxpayer Advocate, an independent organization within the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) which assists taxpayers who are experiencing problems with the IRS, listed “the complexity of the Internal Revenue Code” as the most serious problem facing American taxpayers.
Congressman Goodlatte took steps at the beginning of the 110th Congress to address this dire situation, by introducing bipartisan legislation, the Tax Code Termination Act, to abolish the Internal Revenue Code. He has been joined by nearly 100 members, both Republicans and Democrats, who have cosponsored his legislation.
“As Americans are rushing to finalize their tax returns before tomorrow, I think we can all agree that the current tax system has spiraled out of control,” said Rep. Goodlatte. “With American taxpayers and businesses devoting a total of 6.6 billion hours each year to comply with the current tax code, we need tax simplification.”
The Tax Code Termination Act will repeal the entire tax code, except portions that deal with Social Security and Medicare by December 31, 2010, and calls on Congress to approve a new Federal tax system by July of the same year. This legislation has already been passed twice by the House of Representatives, first in 1998 by a vote of 219-209 and then in 2000 by a vote of 229-187.
The American people are fed up with the current system - and rightly so. Keeping the current tax system is not in America’s best interest. While many questions remain about the best way to reform our tax system, the Tax Code Termination Act takes the first step by forcing Congress to address this important issue. There are a number of possibilities to replace the current tax code including the fair tax, a flat income tax and a number of other proposals.
“Today’s tax code is unfair, discourages savings and investment, and is impossibly complex,” continued Goodlatte. “The Tax Code Termination Act will force Congress to finally debate and address fundamental tax reform. Whichever simpler and fairer tax system is adopted, the key ingredients should be: a low rate for all Americans; tax relief for working people; protection of the rights of taxpayers and reduction in tax collection abuses; promotion of savings and investment; and encouragement of economic growth and job creation.”
The Tax Code Termination Act has been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means for further consideration.
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