[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 149 (Thursday, October 30, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H9733]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               TAX REFORM

  (Mr. GUTKNECHT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Mr. Speaker, it has been said that death and taxes are 
the only sure things in life. The difference between the two is at 
least the IRS cannot make death any worse. The instruction book for the 
original income tax form was just 15 pages long and the highest tax 
rate was 6 percent. When Congress debated this issue in this Chamber in 
1913, some Members worried that the rate would someday reach the 
unthinkable level of 10 percent. Today the lowest Federal income tax 
rate is 15 percent and that 15-page booklet has swelled to more than 
9,000 pages. The average American family pays more in total taxes than 
they do for food, clothing, and shelter combined. It is time for a 
complete overhaul of the Tax Code and the IRS, which have become overly 
burdensome and unfair.
  A lot of so-called experts told us we could not reform welfare, we 
could not slow the rate of Washington spending, we could not balance 
the budget and provide tax relief for American families. Today we are 
told that we cannot replace the existing Tax Code with one that is 
simpler, fairer, and less burdensome. I say it is simply amazing what 
can be accomplished when we do not know what we cannot do.

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