Cornyn Discusses Tax Reform With Small Business Leaders In Dallas

Press Release

Cornyn Discusses Tax Reform With Small Business Leaders In Dallas

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn held a roundtable discussion Saturday in Dallas with small business leaders on proposals to make the tax code more simple, fair and transparent. Sen. Cornyn was joined at Manda Machine Company, Inc. by North Texas small business owners and representatives.

As North Texans complete their federal income tax returns to meet the April 17 Tax Day deadline, Sen. Cornyn highlighted the ways Congress can simplify and reform the tax code to relieve the complex burden it places on taxpayers.

"Taxpayers will spend millions of dollars and thousands of hours filing their taxes this year. It is clearly time to reform our tax system," Sen. Cornyn said. "Any comprehensive approach to reforming the IRS Code should be based on three guiding principles: simplicity, fairness and transparency. Legislation I recently co-sponsored, the Fair Tax Act, is founded on these principles and would replace the income tax with a national retail sales tax. There is increasing support across the nation for making this kind of change in the name of fairness and efficiency."

On hand for the meeting were representatives of the National Federation of Independent Business, Associated Builders and Contractors—North Texas Chapter, Greater Dallas Restaurant Association and Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Sen. Cornyn noted that taxpayers now spend an estimated $300 billion filling out forms in our 67,204-page tax code. "The simplifications in the Fair Tax Act would eliminate much of that wasted time and reduce a significant drag on our national economy," Sen. Cornyn said.

The Fair Tax Act again would eliminate income, capital gains, payroll, estate, gift, corporate and self-employment taxes, and would replace them with a national retail sales tax. The move would have the net effect of "sunsetting" a good part of the Internal Revenue Service as well. The bill would apply only to the sale of new goods and services made to consumers. To eliminate hardship, it would provide every household with a monthly rebate check to offset the tax imposed on essential goods and services.

Sen. Cornyn also discussed the importance of making the tax relief passed by Congress permanent as we work toward comprehensive reform of the tax system. The tax relief has saved taxpayers millions of dollars each year, created millions of new jobs and gave a direct boost to the economy. "The last thing Congress should do is raise taxes by letting that relief expire," Sen. Cornyn said.

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