[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 44 (Tuesday, April 15, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H1457]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REPEAL OF THE 16TH AMENDMENT

  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, believe it or not, today is 
tax day. It is on this day that every hard-working American sends more 
money than is necessary to the Federal Government, a day that most 
people probably would like to forget.
  Most Americans are tired of big government, high taxes, the 
complexity of the current Tax Code and, guess what, the IRS. Well, I am 
too, and I plan on doing something about it.
  Last week I introduced a bill that everyone can support and rally 
behind. It will unite Members and the public behind a common goal, 
eliminating the IRS and developing a new tax system. I think that is 
something every one understands and is energized about.
  My bill is called the tax freedom bill and would repeal the 16th 
amendment to the Constitution. That is the amendment that authorizes 
the income tax. The tax freedom bill is designed to reverse one of the 
most destructive amendments, in my view, to the U.S. Constitution.
  As most of my colleagues know, the 16th amendment was passed by 
Congress in 1909, ratified in 1913, and upheld by the Supreme Court in 
1916. It has been 81 years since the Supreme Court's approval and 
Congress, in all its wisdom, has developed a tax system that has become 
the most economically destructive and possibly complex, overly 
intrusive, unprincipled, dishonest, unfair, and inefficient system in 
this Nation's history. I do not think anybody can disagree with that.
  The current Tax Code has become an uncontrollable and rampant 
institution with no regard for what has made this country great, 
individual freedom.
  Mr. Speaker, there is a bill on the floor that we will consider today 
that illustrates the problems we face. The bill makes browsing or 
snooping through taxpayer files a crime, subjecting offenders to 
criminal penalties of up to $100,000 and/or 1 year in jail. To me this 
is a serious violation of privacy, and I am greatly disturbed that has 
been allowed to occur within the IRS.
  Mr. Speaker, this is just one more reason why the IRS should be 
abolished. It is time for us to stop tinkering around the edges, time 
for us to get serious and abolish the IRS and replace the current 
system.
  The tax freedom bill is the first step to do that. I believe it will 
encourage an open, honest, and constructive debate about why our 
current tax structure has failed and what we should expect. By 
embracing the principles of freedom, we can create a system that is 
fair and simple, that reduces the bureaucracy, that encourages savings, 
that is efficient, that drives the economy, that creates opportunity 
for all and finally puts more money in our pockets.
  The current system fails to meet these commonsense criteria. It is 
not fair or simple.
  The current system has 480 different forms plus 280 more to say how 
to fill out the 480. Explain to me how the first 480 can do anything. 
The original Tax Code, by the way, only had 11,000-plus words in it. 
Today it has 7 million plus.
  It does not reduce bureaucracy. The IRS staff is over 100,000, about 
110,000, one of the most out-of-control big government staffs that we 
have, more people in the IRS getting into our pockets than there are 
immigration and customs agents on our borders.
  The current system discourages savings and investment by taxing 
income when we earn it, taxes it when we save it, taxes us when we 
invest it, and taxes us again when we die.
  It is not efficient. Complying with, I think, the Federal Tax Code 
costs taxpayers more than $600 billion a year.
  Replacing this system will cause interest rates to go down, by every 
testimony that we have had, and savings and capital investment to 
increase.
  Finally, we have stifled opportunity by designing a system that picks 
winners and losers, one in which Washington decides what is best for 
the people instead of letting the people decide what is best for 
America.
  As recently as 1982, Americans paid only 19.9 percent of their income 
in taxes. New data reveals that in 1995 Americans paid 31.3 percent of 
their income in taxes, the highest level in history, and that does not 
count local and State. If we add those in, we are paying nearly 50 
percent, 51, I guess.
  Mr. Speaker, those that say the system can be fixed are crazy, in my 
view. It has undergone 31 major revisions and 400 minor ones in the 
past 40 years. I believe any new system must be based on a vision of 
America that places the individual, not the Government, in charge.

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