[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 28 (Thursday, March 6, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H783]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    SUPPORT COMPREHENSIVE TAX REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Nevada [Mr. Gibbons] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of comprehensive 
tax reform. My personal belief is that we should completely scrap the 
current Tax Code and replace it with one that is fairer, flatter and 
simpler. While I am not certain of which tax reform proposal is best 
for our country, I am certain that our current system is desperately in 
need of reform.
  April 15, millions of Americans will struggle with the current Tax 
Code in a desperate attempt to comply with the rules and regulations 
and their obligation to this country. Since enactment, the Internal 
Revenue Act of 1954, the income tax code has grown from 744,000 words 
in 1955 to 5,577,000 words in 1994. This represents a growth rate of 
625 percent for that 40-year period.
  The Code has been revised well over 400 times through major tax 
enactments and public laws. The Tax Code has become so overly 
complicated that the average American taxpayer finds it extremely 
difficult, if not impossible, to comply.
  I understand that major reform does not come about overnight and 
there are significant steps we can take in the interim to help ease the 
tax burden for the hard working men and women of this country. The 
first is a reduction of the capital gains tax. The capital gains tax 
represents a significant disincentive for investment in this country 
and stifles economic growth. Its reduction would help unlock stagnant 
investment and allow our economy to thrive.
  Second, I would like to eliminate altogether the estate tax. The 
death tax, as it is called, is one of the worst provisions in the Tax 
Code. This tax penalizes hard working families who work so hard to 
provide financial security to their children and grandchildren. It 
often forces businesses and business owners, farmers as well, to 
liquidate their businesses just to pay this tax.
  If Congress is serious about easing the tax burden and making our tax 
system more equitable, capital gains and estate taxes are a good place 
to start.

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