[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 113 (Thursday, September 21, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S8936]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    FAST AND SIMPLE SHORTCUT TAX ACT

  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I rise today as an original cosponsor of 
this innovative and much-needed piece of legislation, the Fair and 
Simple Shortcut Tax (FASST) Act, which would streamline the process of 
paying federal taxes for millions of Americans. I am very pleased to 
join Senator Dorgan in introducing this important legislation.
  The current Federal tax code is a tangle of requirements, deductions, 
credits, and other regulations that only a few lawyers and accountants 
fully understand. Still, we expect the average American citizen, under 
penalty of law, to have a complete grasp of all their tax obligations 
and to pay them in full and on time. The complexity of the current tax 
code has made it a burden to pay ones's tax obligations. This burden 
must be alleviated.
  The good news is that we can do something to simplify the tax code 
for the millions of Americans who do not have complicated investment or 
corporate income and for whom paying taxes should be as easy and 
painless as possible. The FASST Act offers a voluntary tax plan which 
would simplify the filing process for millions Americans. It also 
provides much needed tax relief through the elimination of the marriage 
penalty, a tax which actually punishes people for getting married.
  The FASST Act would provide a single, low tax rate of 15 percent for 
taxpayers who earn up to $100,000 per year in wages and receive no more 
than $5,000 in income from capital gains, interest, and dividends. A 
taxpayer who chooses to participate in this program would not receive a 
tax return, nor would he have to pay the federal government on April 
15th because too little in taxes was deducted from his payroll. 
Instead, the employee would elect to fill out a modified W-4 form at 
work whereby his employer would withdraw the exact tax obligation at 
the single low rate of 15 percent. What a relief it would be for those 
folks who qualify to be free from the yearly burden of trying to 
decipher the federal tax code.
  Taxpayers who elect to participate in this program would still 
benefit from the current standard tax deduction, as well as personal 
exemptions, child care credits, the Earned Income Tax Credit and a 
deduction for home mortgage interest expenses and property taxes. Thus, 
employees would experience the best of both worlds--the current tax 
system's generous deduction and credit system for working families, as 
well as a simplified tax system. This bill also provides generous 
savings incentives by exempting up to $5,000 of all interest, dividends 
and capital income from taxes.
  Taxpayers who do not participate in the FASST program would also 
benefit from provisions in the FASST Act. First, this act reduces the 
marriage penalty, and provides an exemption from the Alternative 
Minimum Tax for many sole proprietors and small businesses. In 
addition, all taxpayers would be eligible to receive a 50 percent 
credit for up to $200 in tax preparer expenses if they file their taxes 
electronically. And again, there is a substantial incentive for savings 
and investment as up to $500 of dividend and interest income is exempt 
for individuals. The FASST Act is good for all taxpayers.
  I believe that the FASST Act provides much needed reform to our tax 
system. Our current federal tax code is immense, complex, and 
confusing. It has become a burden on the American taxpayer. The FASST 
Act takes a much-needed first step toward providing a simpler, 
friendlier means of collecting taxes from our hard-working citizens. I 
am pleased to join with my fellow Senators from North Dakota and 
Illinois in introducing the Fast and Simple Shortcut Tax Act today.

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