[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 9809]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 EXPRESSING SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING REFORM OF INTERNAL REVENUE CODE

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                               speech of

                         HON. MARIO DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 9, 2003

  Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, American families have 
fallen victim to an unfair and burdensome tax code. Duplicative and 
outdated tax policies--even dating back to the Spanish American War--
are forcing families across the Nation to sacrifice health insurance, 
car payments or their child's education in order to fulfill their tax 
obligations.
  The IRS plays too big of a role in the everyday lives of American 
families. In 2001, alone, the IRS spent close to $9 billion 
administering the tax system. Americans spent $135 billion and three 
billion hours complying with the tax code that same year.
  As we quickly approach April 15th, Americans struggle to comply with 
an increasingly unfair and complex tax code. Unfortunately, we can no 
longer justify our own system of taxation. The marriage penalty and the 
death tax epitomize the unjust taxation millions of families are 
impacted by each year.
  Duplicative taxes also plague our tax code. The double taxation of 
dividends, for example, impacts the 52% of Americans invested in the 
stock market--half of which are seniors. The elimination of this 
injustice will create over 500,000 jobs each year and will eliminate a 
great burden on American investors.
  Americans deserve a tax code that is simple, fair and encourages 
economic growth, not financial crisis. Our tax code provides 
disincentives for marriage, jobs and savings.
  While many in this Chamber have spoken about reforming our tax codes, 
it has become clear that rhetoric does not produce results. 
Comprehensive tax reform and reform of the IRS must take place in order 
to ensure the economic stability of America and the financial stability 
of the American family.
  I urge my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 141, which acknowledges 
that our tax code is in desperate need of major reforms. Let us all 
stand committed to reforming a system that is sacrificing job growth, 
financial stability and economic recovery in order to build more 
bureaucracies like the IRS. I stand in strong support of this 
resolution.

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