[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 41 (Wednesday, April 9, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H1344]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             WE NEED A TAX SYSTEM WHICH IS FAIR AND SIMPLE

  (Mr. HEFLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, I have a problem, and my problem is I cannot 
decide which foolish, counterproductive, unfair tax I hate the most. I 
do not like the capital gains tax because it hurts economic growth and 
it kills job creation. I do not like the death tax because it takes 
one's life work, the fruit of a lifetime of labor and tells the 
grieving, ``Pay up now, and if you can't afford to, I'm closing up the 
family business.'' I do not like business taxes because it takes the 
taxes twice, and like the capital gains tax, it means fewer jobs for 
the people who need them most.
  But perhaps the most odious, offensive and outrageously unfair part 
of the Tax Code is the personal income tax. The burden is too heavy, 
the loopholes are too pervasive, and the complexity is simply 
overwhelming.
  When we look at the set of volumes that compromise the Federal Tax 
Code, 36,000 pages at last count, we cannot help but think who designed 
this thing? It is time to get a grip, junk the Tax Code, start all 
over, cut tax rates and pass a tax system which is both simple and 
fair.

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