WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-08), a Certified Public Accountant and member of the Small Business Committee, took to the House floor Tuesday to call on Congress to take up tax reform as step one in a bipartisan pro-growth strategy:
“While our nation faces many challenges, perhaps none is more pressing than that of growing our economy. The positive impact of strong, sustained economic growth has the potential to not only help families make ends meet, but it will also address the many other pressures we face.
The time is now for Congress and this administration act on meaningful tax reform. The model is simple and straightforward: we need to simplify the ridiculously complex internal revenue code, eliminate the loopholes that allow corporations and individuals to avoid paying their fair share, lower the rates for middle class families and small businesses, and broaden the tax base.
As a Certified Public Accountant and an independent voice for my constituents, I intend to push vehemently to make tax reform a reality in this congress. Moreover, this can and must be a bipartisan priority. One and a half percent growth in GDP is simply unsustainable. If that trend continues, we will not be able to fund priorities such as bolstering our national security, taking care of our veterans, combatting the addiction crisis, funding public education, preserving our environment, and a whole host of other priorities.
Economic growth has three key aspects: tax reform, regulatory reform and a balanced budget. The REINS Act and the upcoming vote on the CHOICE Act will start this process on the regulatory side, which will revive the ability of community banks to support local economies and advance infrastructure investment that puts Americans to work by rebuilding roads, schools, bridges, as well as our IT infrastructure and electrical grid. The other critical component is tax reform, and we owe it to the American people to get this done.
I call on my good colleagues on both sides to put politics aside and do what we were sent here to do: stand up for hardworking families and unleash the power of the American economy.”
As Congress and the administration begin the process of negotiating what bipartisan tax reform should look like, Fitzpatrick is advocating for several policies to encourage growth, simplify the tax code and increase service for taxpayers.
- GROWTH: It has been over 30 years since the last major overhaul of our tax system. Despite rapid economic change from technology to medicine, the tax code has only expanded its burdens on the American people, restricting opportunity and economic freedom. The positive impact of strong, sustained economic growth has the potential to not only help families make ends meet, but address several other pressures we face. A successful tax plan should:
- Increase take-home pay for hardworking Americans by reducing the number of tax brackets and cutting individual rates
- Lower rates for small businesses and job creators so they can invest in growing their business, hiring new workers and raising wages
- Repeal the ‘Death Tax’
- Allow American businesses to immediately write off the full costs of new investments – including research and development, or technology.
- ?SIMPLICITY: At over 70,000 pages, the current tax code forces American taxpayers to navigate a maze of burdensome regulations and compliance costs that include Treasury regulations, IRS forms, instructions, publications and other federal guidance. A successful tax plan should:
- Simplify tax benefits for families
- Reduce numerous exemptions, deductions, and credits that riddle the tax code, making it less fair for those who cannot take advantage of such provisions.
- SERVICE: Americans pay taxes voluntarily knowing that their tax dollars fund the federal government. As the agency in charge of this relationship, the IRS should have a singular focus: ‘Service First.’ A successful tax plan should:
- Restructure the IRS to resolve routine disputes quickly.
- Hold the IRS commissioner accountable to the people by implementing term limits, keeping politics out of the IRS.