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By Rep. Tom Feeney Posted in High Taxes | Taxes — Comments (9) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Yesterday, hardworking taxpayers across America once again scrambled to comply with our nation's burdensome and confusing tax code. It seems as though each year complying with the federal tax code becomes more time consuming and tricky. According to the Tax Foundation, as of 2005, IRS regulations contained over 6,958,000 words - that's almost nine times the total number of words in the King James Bible. Additionally, the IRS currently lists 1,047 separate forms, schedules, and instructions on its website. In fiscal year 2006, the IRS estimated that individual and business taxpayers spent 6.65 billion hours complying with tax laws. That is the equivalent of 3.2 million employees working 40-hour weeks year-round without any vacation. Clearly, American taxpayers are spending too much time and money complying with the current tax code, and I am working hard to make the process of paying taxes easier and more fair on everyone.

Ultimately, the American people deserve a completely new tax code - one that is not tweaked and twisted into a complex maze of rules, provisions and loopholes. It should be a priority of every Member of Congress to lower federal taxes and make the tax code fairer and simpler. I have laid out my priorities in the American Taxpayer Bill of Rights and am supportive of other measures to accomplish this goal.

Last year I introduced, as a member of the Republican Study Committee, the "American Taxpayer Bill of Rights." This established four basic rights to ensure that taxpayers across America receive a more efficient and accountable government. These include:

1. Taxpayers have a right to have a federal government that does not grow beyond their ability to pay for it.
2. Taxpayers have a right to receive back each dollar that they entrust to the government for their retirement.
3. Taxpayers have a right to expect the government to balance the budget without having their taxes raised.
4. Taxpayers have a right to a simple, fair tax code that they can understand.

Currently in Congress, multiple bills have been introduced that would help to stabilize and grow the American economy through tax cuts. Instead of passing legislation to help American taxpayers keep more of their hard earned money to reinvest in their own futures, Democrats passed the largest tax increase in history, causing capital and jobs to flee America.

Read on . . .

Democrats have eliminated the ability of hardworking taxpayers in Florida to deduct their state sales tax from their federal income taxes. Residents of states with a consumption tax instead of an income tax, like Florida and Texas, are being punished as this is the last year this deduction is an option. Democrats are unfairly penalizing these taxpayers, and I have cosponsored HR 60 to help restore equality among taxpayers. HR 60 would amend the Internal Revenue Code to make the deduction of state and local general sales taxes permanent, a crucial piece of legislation that must be addressed immediately.

To ensure that our nation remains prosperous and our economy vibrant, I encourage all members of Congress to support the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2007 which would make permanent the Republican tax cuts of 2001 and 2003. Should these tax cuts expire, as they are currently set to do, every federal tax bracket will have a rate increase, more taxpayers will fall victim to the AMT, and businesses will not be able to claim a tax credit for research, experimentation and development activities. To keep America's economy growing, we must make the tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 permanent.

Full repeal of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) is a vital component of establishing a healthy U.S. economy. I am a cosponsor of HR 3818, the Taxpayer Choice Act of 2007. This would repeal the increasingly burdensome and unfair AMT and offer taxpayers a choice of participating in the current tax system or in a new, highly simplified one.

I strongly support the Fair Tax Act, which would eliminate the federal income tax and the IRS and instead allow American families to keep more of their hard-earned money. HR 25, the Fair Tax Act, would eliminate the federal income tax and the IRS, replacing them with a national sales tax to be administered primarily by the states. This in and of itself would greatly simplify the system for determining individual's federal taxes.

This week in Congress, we are voting to send $30 billion overseas for foreign debt cancellation. Congress should spend hard-earned taxpayer dollars on vital national interests and keep Americans employed rather than shipping billions overseas. Actions like this are taking place time and time again with this liberal majority, and its no wonder that Americans are frustrated with what they see coming out of Washington. American taxpayers have lost faith in the way Congress is spending their hard earned dollars.

As elected officials we have an obligation to be good stewards of the people's money. We have a responsibility to create a simplified tax code that removes barriers to economic growth and prosperity while generating resources to help protect America from its national security threats. It is my hope that this dream for hardworking taxpayers can be come a reality.