Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Graves: I need your input on tax reform

(From Sixth District Congressman Sam Graves)

Voters sent a message to Washington and elected officials from across the country on November 8. They gave Republicans control of both Houses in Congress and the White House for the first time in a decade.

With that message comes a mandate, a mandate that we replace Obamacare, revitalize the economy, and continue working to shrink annual deficits. Something that goes with each of those principles, and one of the things I am most hopeful to accomplish with a Republican in the White House, is comprehensive tax reform.

Everyone in this country knows that our tax code is time consuming and complex. But small business owners and their employees feel the brunt of this confusion the most. As a farmer, I can’t even begin to count the hours my family spent on compliance. I wish we had that time back to work on the farm.

Our tax code was last reformed over three decades ago. Since then, so much about the way American businesses operate in the U.S. and across the world has changed. An outdated, complex tax code puts our job creators at a disadvantage and hurts the bottom line of every family in this country.

We need a tax code designed for the 21st century - not the 1980s. That’s why tax reform that closes loopholes for special interests, eliminates unfair deductions for specific industries, and removes the IRS’ ability to operate on purely political reasons will be one of my top focuses in the next Congress.

But it’s more than just promises and talking points - a revitalized tax code means something for everyone in the United States. It means businesses can focus on prosperity - not compliance and red tape. It means individuals can complete their taxes alone every year without fear of an audit. And it means our GDP will grow when businesses make decisions based on economics instead of arbitrary guidelines set by the IRS.

But politics is one of the things that has held back tax reform - that’s why it’s so important that everyone is involved in this process, and that real tax reform is completed in the most responsible, fair and transparent manner possible. As such, I encourage you to submit all of your thoughts and ideas on tax reform to a new website I created for this purpose. Find the link for that site here.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sam you really don't want my input, I can't write you on your gov.org page because I don't live in one of your zip codes. Do you want me to slip some cash in an envelope and send it to you with my opinion? Since you asked I am for progressive taxes. Got a nice house a car a boat , a vacation house , send your kids to college without going into debt...............If you got more than that then you pay a higher %. Lets go back to IKE"S Tax brackets and pay for George's war and then do some major infrastructure work that would put some vets to work, and then help out people trying to live on minimum social security benefits to eat a little better. (visit a walMart on a Tuesday evening or Wed and see retired folks buying their groceries. Uh lets see the Post Service is in the constitution, pay 10% of the attention to it as you do the Second amendment, and put some Vets to work there like we did before you put the strangle hold on it.

Anonymous said...

I hate to burst Mr. Grave's bubble, but there was no mandate given in the Nov. 2016 election. From what I've read DT was voted in by about one fourth of the voting public. He won the Electoral College but not the popular vote. I think DT is losing the popular vote by over 2.2 million. That's not a mandate. I would suggest Mr. Graves proceed with caution and due diligence when addressing "tax reform". We've done trickle down and it doesn't work. Been there done that.

Anonymous said...

I hear some people think that the republican party is about to fall in love with deficit spending again.

In simpler terms, they think they have a mandate to administer a Sham Brownquack/WhassamatterwithKansas style tea party enema to the nation.

Perhaps these are the types of suggestions Graves has been receiving from his paymasters?

Anonymous said...

The real question is why does this Dork even ask the question? We all know what is going to happen. The Congress is going to cut taxes for the wealthy and stick the rest of us with the government's bills.

Anonymous said...

Graves, play your idiot card somewhere else. You are going to do what your rich owners (Koch brothers) tell you to do. Why even act like you really care? If you are fool enough to buy the Republicans "mandate" rhetoric then you have already bought the rest of their lies. Now put your aluminum hat back on and go stare at the sun for awhile.