[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 41 (Monday, March 6, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E522]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           TAXED TO THE LIMIT

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                          HON. PHILIP M. CRANE

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, March 6, 1995
  Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, in 1982, I first introduced a bill to replace 
our entire complicated tax code with one, simple flat income tax. 
Unfortunately, we were not given the opportunity to debate my bill or 
fundamental tax reform in general thanks to the Democrat-controlled 
Ways and Means Committee.
  With the advent of Republican control of Congress, we finally have an 
opportunity to debate fundamental reform of the tax code. I believe 
that such reform should include the flat income tax.
  Echoing that statement is our Senate Colleague Connie Mack from 
Florida. In the March 2, 1995, edition of the Washington Times, Senator 
Mack wrote an article stating the case for the flat tax. I commend his 
article to the attention of my colleagues, and urge them to support the 
concept and implementation of the flat tax when Congress later 
considers tax reform.
               [From the Washington Times, Mar. 2, 1995]

                           Taxed to the Limit

                            (By Connie Mack)

       Eighty-two years ago this week Americans' hard-earned money 
     became subject to federal income taxation. After eight 
     decades of misuse by lawmakers, lobbyists, special interests 
     and income redistributors, the income tax system is in dire 
     need of a complete overhaul.
       Under the current income tax system, marginal tax rates 
     that were 15 and 28 percent just a few years back are now as 
     high as 45 percent--and in some cases high tax rates are 
     combined with double and even triple taxation of income.
       Our current tax system punishes success, stifles work 
     effort, discourages saving and investing and fosters 
     unproductive investments in tax shelters. Simply stated, our 
     tax system hinders the full productive potential of our 
     economy and reduces every American's potential for a higher 
     standard of living.
       Like our forefathers, we find ourselves at a crossroads of 
     governmental evolution. The American Revolution was as much a 
     referendum on tax policies as it was on government. 
     Jefferson, Hamilton and Paine looked at the political 
     realities of that time and concluded that the status quo 
     could not meet the needs of the ``New World.'' Today, as we 
     enter the new millennium, the American people are demanding 
     the same kind of imagination and leadership that our 
     forefathers provided. The Republican Economic Plan is a major 
     part of the new revolution that began on Nov. 8.
       The Flat Tax is a critical part of this revolution. A flat 
     rate income tax would radically reduce the tax compliance 
     burden currently imposed on every individual and business. 
     People would be able to calculate their income tax liability 
     with ease. The Internal Revenue Service would no longer need 
     to publish 480 different tax forms. Taxpayers would no longer 
     have to wade through 1,378 pages of tax code and 6,439 
     additional pages of federal tax regulation.
       Not only is the tax burden (particularly on the middle-
     class) at a record high, but Americans waste some $190 
     billion and 6 billion man-hours just to comply with our 
     onerous tax code. To add some perspective, 6 billion man 
     hours is equal to the amount of man hours it takes to produce 
     all of the cars, trucks and airplanes in this country each 
     year!
       If adopted, a flat rate tax system would end the economic 
     damage due to the perverse effects on work incentives caused 
     by high marginal tax rates. The amount of after-tax money an 
     individual keeps for each additional dollar earned can 
     determine whether that individual works overtime, seeks out 
     tax shelters, or goes fishing. Currently, people 
     automatically forfeit more of their money to taxes when they 
     increase their real income and are moved to a higher tax 
     rate--cutting the government in on a larger share of people's 
     hard work and success. It's no wonder Americans feel they 
     have been working longer and harder with so little to show 
     for it--they have.
       These deterrents would not exist under a flat tax system. 
     The prevailing ``rich'' vs. ``poor'' tax warfare, which has 
     fostered higher taxes across the board to the disadvantage of 
     everyone, would end. To the greatest possible extent, people 
     would be treated equally under the law. There would be no tax 
     loopholes or giveaways for special interests. A flat tax 
     would provide fundamental fairness in the way we treat all 
     taxpayers.
       A generous individual allowance and dependent deduction 
     would insure that low-income families would be completely 
     removed from the tax rolls. Right now, our government takes a 
     huge chunk of peoples' income and then bribes them with their 
     own money by giving it back with a deduction here and tax 
     credit there. A low-rate flat tax would allow tax payers to 
     keep more hard earned money as they earn it; no other tax 
     reform plan treats each individual with as much fairness, 
     simplicity and clarity. The flat tax would eliminate 
     government's current role of micro-managing people's behavior 
     through the tax code, and would encourage individual 
     initiative, ingenuity and opportunity to flourish.
       Tax reform is critical to enhancing long-term economic 
     growth. By eliminating destructively high marginal tax rates, 
     the flat tax would boost investment, productivity, wage 
     growth and overall standard of living. We know that reducing 
     high marginal tax rates worked when Presidents Kennedy and 
     Reagan cut them, resulting in two periods of our nation's 
     most robust economic growth.
       While Americans continue to work longer and harder to 
     improve their lives, their efforts are being thwarted by an 
     outdated and punitive tax code. Replacing the current income 
     tax system with a flat tax will reduce both the time and 
     amount Americans dedicate to taxes. A revolution began on 
     Nov. 8--and flat-tax reform should be an integral part of 
     this revolution.
     

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