[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 85 (Thursday, June 25, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H5301]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               IRS REFORM

  (Mr. SHIMKUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to compliment the House for 
its vote last week to abolish the Tax Code by 2002. Although it is 
unlikely that this bill will become law, it is a significant first step 
in our effort to fundamentally reform the current Internal Revenue 
Code. If we are ever to reform our tax system, we must focus the debate 
on how we will change the Tax Code, not if or when.
  The existing Tax Code is a complex web of credits, deductions, and 
revenue rulings which shifts resources and time from productive 
economic activities to tax compliance. Furthermore, taxpayers with 
identical incomes often have vastly different tax liabilities.
  It is time we in Congress provide the American taxpayer with a Tax 
Code which promotes economic growth, lessens the burdens of compliance 
on individuals and small businesses and, most importantly, 
reestablishes fairness.
  Madam Speaker, I look forward today to voting on IRS reform later on 
this afternoon.

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