[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13983]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                      REAL REFORM FOR THE TAX CODE

  (Mr. HEFLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, oftentimes people come up to me and say, the 
politicians are always talking about reforming the Tax Code, getting 
rid of the Tax Code, making it easier to file our taxes, but nothing 
ever changes. How come that is?
  The short answer is that the special interests benefit from the Tax 
Code, and the complexity of the Tax Code is a source of enormous 
government power. Thus, it would not be in the interests of anyone who 
wants to expand government power to change the Tax Code in a more sane 
direction.
  Another reason is equally valid. It is called Tax Code progressivity. 
Any attempt to change the Tax Code into something that made sense, that 
actually looked like it was designed on purpose, would be met with 
howls of protests from the liberals. They would say it was unfair 
because it would undermine progressivity.
  A flat tax, one rate, meaning that the more you make the more taxes 
you pay, is already a system that is fair and that makes high earners 
pay their fair share. A sales tax would also be fair.
  In my view, if Members are against the flat tax or the sales tax, all 
the talk about reforming the Tax Code is simply empty rhetoric.

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