WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-08), a Certified Public Accountant and member of the Small Business Committee, released the following statement Wednesday regarding the unveiling of a tax reform framework:

“Meaningful, bipartisan tax reform is a crucial step toward growing our economy and strengthening America’s middle class. 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. I look forward to working with the administration and leaders from both parties in making this objective a reality.”

On Tuesday, President Trump said, “It's time for both parties to come together and do what is right for the American people.”

Fitzpatrick has outlined his tax reform priorities in three pillars: encouraging growth, simplifying the tax code itself, and increasing 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. 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 resolves routine disputes quickly
• Hold the IRS commissioner accountable to the people by implementing term limits, keeping politics out of the IRS