By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks, said that hard working American families deserve to take home more of their paychecks, and President Donald Trump’s tax plan will make that happen.
“As most folks across East Alabama have seen in the news lately, President Trump and Congress are working together to help make our broken tax code fairer and simpler,” Rogers said. “The House and Senate have both passed the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Resolution which clears the path to start tax reform and it has been quite some time since this has happened.”
Rogers said that the last time the tax code was reformed, “Guy Hunt was elected first Republican Governor of Alabama in over 100 years, Auburn’s Bo Jackson was first pick of the NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, The Bangles were topping the charts, The Oprah Winfrey Show made its first national broadcast, Teddy Ruxpin was every child’s dream toy and the TV show “Dallas” brought Bobby Ewing back from the dead….the year was 1986.”
“Now Congress will begin the overhaul by simplifying our tax code,” Rogers said. “Hard-working American families deserve to take home more of their hard-earned paychecks, and President Trump’s tax plan will help make that happen.”
Rogers said that the plan will make it easier to file and be, “As easy as filling out a form the size of a postcard.”
According to Rogers: the plan will save families time and money; lowering tax rates and level the playing field for small business; close special interest loopholes; help encourage investment back in America, “And help bring more good-paying jobs back home.”
“I support President Trump’s efforts to reform our broken tax code to make things easier on the hard-working families across East Alabama,” Rogers announced.
Rogers said that Americans can learn more about the plan at:
https://fairandsimple.gop
Sign up for SMS notifications on tax reform by texting “TAX REFORM” to 50589.
On Tuesday, the House Republicans released a statement on tax reform: “The special interest ghouls will do anything to protect all their little tricks and treats. They will haunt the hallways and demonize our plan. They will conjure up new scare tactics and spread wicked tales. They will cast us as bogeymen and attempt to distract us with Hocus Pocus. You will hear Stranger Things said about this bill than you can imagine. These poltergeists want you to be frightened. That’s because, for the skeletons of the status quo, our plan is a Nightmare on K Street. We will clear out the cobwebs and throw those scary carve outs into the graveyard. We will slash tax rates for families, double the standard deduction, consolidate the existing Se7en brackets, and increase the Child Tax Credit so you can keep more of what you earn. Instead of the same mysterious brew of booreaucracy, we will simplify things so that you can do your taxes on a form the size of a postcard. And if that doesn’t lift your spirits, this plan will also give everyday hardworking families a monster pay raise—witches very good news.”
“There’s a reason we haven’t reformed the tax code since 1986—It takes real guts,” House Republicans wrote. “But we cannot accept the current system as the new para-normal. The Thing to remember is that we now face a choice: We can continue to slide down this path of stagnant growth and flat wages, or we can Get Out of this rut, renew the American idea, and usher in a renaissance of growth and prosperity. We know this post is a little bit candy corny—at times enough to make you Scream—but The Shining opportunity before us could not be more clear. So don’t be spooked, and let’s get this done.”
“Our country and our economy cannot take off like they should unless we reform America’s outdated, complex, and extremely burdensome — I mean, this is so complicated and so burdensome — our tax code. Our painful tax system has become a massive barrier to America’s economic comeback. It really is; we’re penalized. It costs us millions of American jobs, trillions of dollars, and billions of hours wasted on paperwork and on compliance. Our tax code is a giant self-inflicted economic wound,” President Donald Trump said in a speech in North Dakota.
“If we want to renew our prosperity, restore our opportunity, and reestablish our economic dominance — which is what we should be doing — when we need tax reform that is pro-growth, pro-jobs, pro-worker, pro-family, and, yes, pro-American. Our tax plan represents a sharp reversal from the failed policy of the past. America’s high tax rates punish companies for doing business in America and encourages them to move to other countries.”
“Here are my four basic principles for tax reform: First, we need a tax code that is simple, fair, and easy to understand — unlike what we have. Our tax code has gotten ridiculously complex. This complexity leads to massive frustration, wasted time, and wasted money. Second, we will cut taxes for middle-class families. This is a major, major tax cut — the biggest since Ronald Reagan. Third, we need a tax code that restores our competitive edge so we can create more jobs and higher wages for American workers. Our plan will provide tax relief to businesses of all sizes. And we will cut the business tax rate as much as possible. Ideally, we would like to bring our business tax rate down to around 15 percent. That’s a tremendous drop. We’ll also dramatically reduce the tax rate for America’s small businesses which have created more than 60 percent of new private-sector jobs in the recent past. Tax relief is on the way for millions of sole proprietors, LLCs, and partnerships who report their income to their personal — and they do this — they put it on their personal tax returns. People think of it as a business, but it’s on their personal tax returns. Those people, with those businesses, will be tremendous beneficiaries. We are not going to allow the death tax or the inheritance tax or the whatever-you-want-to-call-it to crush the American Dream. Not going to let it happen. We’re going to reduce the tax rate on American business so they can keep our jobs in America, create jobs in America, and compete for workers right here in America, meaning higher wages and greater profits for companies. We must bring back trillions of dollars in wealth that’s parked overseas and just can’t come back. Our tax system penalizes companies that bring wealth they have earned overseas back to America. As a result, corporations have parked trillions of dollars in foreign countries — money that could be and should be brought back into the United States where it can be invested in America companies, in American jobs, and American workers. Our tax plan will give these companies a chance to bring back these funds — and bring them back and spend it in cities and towns all across our country.”
Republicans are optimistic that they can pass their tax reform plan before Christmas.
Rogers represents Alabama’s 3rd Congressional District.
