[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 3, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E12]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TAX CODE TERMINATION ACT

                                  _____
                                 

                           HON. BOB GOODLATTE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 3, 2017

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to re-introduce the Tax Code 
Termination Act, legislation that will abolish the Internal Revenue 
Code by December 31, 2021, and call on Congress to approve a new 
federal tax system by July of the same year.
  Back home in the Sixth Congressional District of Virginia and across 
America, folks want Congress to address real problems facing our 
nation--problems like our broken tax code. Today's tax code is 
needlessly complex, unfair, discourages savings and investment, and 
creates uncertainty and added costs for business and families 
attempting to comply. In November, the American people sent a clear 
message to Washington--it's time for change.
  I applaud the efforts of my colleagues to make changes to our tax 
system and finally institute a new system. The discussion draft 
released by former Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp in the 113th 
Congress and the work of Chairman Brady and the Speaker's Tax Reform 
Taskforce in the 114th Congress, prove that there has already been a 
movement afoot in Congress to take on this monstrosity. Now is the 
ideal time to finally act.
  My bill complements these efforts by setting a date-certain for 
sunsetting our current tax code to provide the focus we need to debate 
and finally enact the kind of comprehensive tax reform the American 
people deserve. Once the Tax Code Termination Act becomes law, today's 
tax code would survive only through December 2021, at which time it 
would expire and be replaced with a new tax code that will be 
determined by Congress, and the American people.
  Under the Tax Code Termination Act, Congress would have four years to 
debate various tax proposals, ultimately replacing our current tax 
system with a new system that applies a low rate to all Americans, 
provides tax relief for working Americans, protects the rights of 
taxpayers and reduces collection abuses, eliminates the bias against 
savings and investment, promotes economic growth and job creation, and 
does not penalize marriage or families.
  This legislation has gained wide support in past Congresses and had 
144 bipartisan cosponsors in the 114th Congress. In fact, similar 
legislation has already been passed twice by the House of 
Representatives, first in 1998 and again in 2000.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and comprehensive 
tax reform. The American people deserve policies that promote a 
flourishing economy and a tax code that treats them as owners of this 
democratic republic, not customers of it. A new simplified and fairer 
tax code will do just that and a date certain for having such a system 
will ensure we deliver on our promises.

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