[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 79-80]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      ``TAX CODE TERMINATION ACT''

                                  _____
                                 

                           HON. BOB GOODLATTE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 6, 2015

  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, 2019, and call on Congress to approve a 
new Federal tax system by July of the same year.
  There is no denying that our current tax system has spiraled out of 
control. Americans devote countless hours each year to comply with the 
tax code and it is very clear we need tax simplification. Today's tax 
code is unfair, discourages savings and investment, and is impossibly 
complex. Businesses and families

[[Page 80]]

need relief from uncertainty and the burdensome task of complying with 
the tax code. However, the problem is Congress won't act on fundamental 
tax reform unless it is compelled to do so. The Tax Code Termination 
Act will finally force Congress to debate and address fundamental tax 
reform.
  Once the Tax Code Termination Act becomes law, today's oppressive tax 
code would survive for only four more years, at which time it would 
expire and be replaced with a new tax code that will be determined by 
Congress, the President, and the American people. The Tax Code 
Termination Act will allow us, as a nation, to collectively decide what 
the new tax system should look like. Having a date-certain to end the 
current tax code will force the issue to the top of the national 
agenda, where it will remain until Congress finishes writing the new 
tax law.
  This legislation has gained wide support in past Congresses and had 
122 bipartisan cosponsors in the 113th Congress. In fact, similar 
legislation has already been passed twice by the House of 
Representatives, first in 1998 and then in 2000.
  Although many questions remain about the best way to reform our tax 
system, if Congress is forced to address the issue we can create a tax 
code that is simpler, fairer, and better for our economy than the one 
we are forced to comply with today. Congress won't reach a consensus on 
such a contentious issue unless it is forced to do so. The Tax Code 
Termination Act will force Congress to finally debate and address 
fundamental tax reform.
  America's future partially depends on overcoming the impairment that 
is our current tax code. There is a widespread consensus that the 
current system is broken, and keeping it is not in America's best 
interest. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and end the 
broken tax system that exists today and provide a tax code that the 
American people deserve.

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