[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 7940]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            VALUE-ADDED TAX

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, consumer spending is critical to creating new 
jobs, and the last thing we want to do during a recovery is discourage 
it. Unfortunately, we are hearing whispers and rumblings that the 
President's debt commission could recommend a new value-added tax 
before the end of the year, a VAT tax. Close advisers to the President 
such as Paul Volcker and John Podesta have publicly supported this tax 
which is already widely used in Europe.
  The problem is that European taxes mean European unemployment and 
European levels of job growth. From 1982 to 2007, the U.S. created 45 
million new jobs, compared to only 10 million in Europe. VAT taxes 
raised the price of goods, directly reducing consumer purchasing power, 
and this means fewer jobs.
  I think we need to make it clear to the debt commission that a VAT 
tax is no solution to our fiscal problems. The real solution is to 
restrain Federal Government spending that has far outstripped its 
traditional boundaries. I'm circulating a letter for signatures to the 
commission opposing the VAT tax, and I hope all my colleagues will 
stand with me against the VAT tax.

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