[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 5, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E10-E11]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  THE FAIR AND SIMPLE TAX ACT OF 2011

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DAVID DREIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 5, 2011

  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, our top priority is to get our economy going 
again. Helping families keep more of their hard-earned money and 
providing businesses with additional resources to invest in their 
operations will help create jobs and get our economy back on track.
  The Fair and Simple Tax (FAST) Act is a commonsense plan that will 
provide certainty in the tax code and a boost to the economy. The bill 
cuts the current 6-bracket tax structure in half and employs three 
simple rates of 10, 15, and 30 percent. By reducing marginal rates and 
preserving major deductions, including mortgage interest, charitable, 
state and local taxes, the child tax credit and the personal exemption, 
the FAST Act provides working Americans with more money for their 
needs.
  The FAST Act also addresses the need to get our economy moving again 
by providing important investment incentives and creating new 
opportunities for workers and job creators alike. As American 
businesses continue to participate in the global economy, the FAST Act 
makes domestic employers more competitive by reducing the corporate tax 
rate from the highest in the world to a more competitive rate. In order 
to encourage innovation and boost entrepreneurship, the FAST Act 
provides a permanent extension of the Research and Development Tax 
Credit. In addition, under the FAST Act, the tax code rewards, not 
penalizes, success by reducing the individual capital gains tax rate 
from 15 percent to 10 percent and indexing the tax for inflation.
  The FAST Act is based on the principle that Americans deserve a tax 
code that is fair and easy to understand. This year, Americans are 
projected to spend $392 billion preparing their taxes. To make this 
process easier, the FAST Act creates a simple, one-page tax filing form 
that employs the simplified marginal rate structure.
  This bill brings a sense of fairness to the tax code by permanently 
repealing the Death Tax and indexing the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) 
to inflation. In doing so, the FAST Act ensures that fewer taxpayers 
will be impacted by the AMT each year. In addition, the bill 
permanently extends the 2001 and 2003 tax relief measures.
  As Americans seek to save money for retirement, education and other 
needs, the FAST Act provides incentives to encourage individuals to 
save more. The FAST Act creates three new, tax-free savings accounts: 
the Retirement Savings Account, the Lifetime Savings Account, both 
providing a $5,000 tax-free contribution, and the Lifetime Skills 
Savings Account, which provides a $1,000 tax-free contribution. Each 
provides Americans with additional ways to save money for their future 
needs.
  Americans should have more control, not less, over their health care 
expenses. That is why the FAST Act creates a $7,500 tax deduction for 
individuals and a $15,000 tax deduction for families who do not have 
access to employer-sponsored health coverage. This expanded deduction 
provides individuals and

[[Page E11]]

families with additional assistance to purchase health care and allows 
unspent funds to be allocated to a Health Savings Account (HSA).
  Mr. Speaker, the FAST Act reforms the tax code to provide permanent 
tax relief and clarity for American families and businesses, while 
encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship vital to our economic 
recovery. I encourage all my colleagues to join me in this pro-growth 
economic policy.

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