Cornyn: We Must Reform And Simplify Tax Code, Make Tax Relief Permanent

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Cornyn: We Must Reform And Simplify Tax Code, Make Tax Relief Permanent

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Budget Committee, in advance of Tax Day called on Congress to make the tax code more simple, fair and transparent. In remarks on the Senate floor, Sen. Cornyn also said we must make tax relief passed by Congress permanent to save taxpayers money and keep the economy growing.
Senator John Cornyn Discusses Reforming the Tax Code on the Senate Floor - 04/16/2007

Senator John Cornyn Discusses Reforming the Tax Code on the Senate Floor - 04/16/2007
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"The current tax code is broken and Congress needs to fix it," Sen. Cornyn said. "Taxpayers will spend thousands of hours and pay billions of dollars filing their taxes this year. This has more than doubled in just the past ten years. It is clearly time to reform our tax system. Whatever our tax system, it ought to be based on three fundamental ideas: simplicity, fairness and transparency. I think these simple ideas should be our guide in reforming and simplifying our tax laws."

Sen. Cornyn noted that taxpayers now spend an estimated $265 billion filling out forms in the current 67,204-page tax code. And six out of ten taxpayers now use the help of an outside expert just to figure out their duty when it comes to paying taxes, Sen. Cornyn said.

"The vast majority of Americans now require professional assistance to help fill out tax documents," Sen. Cornyn added. "Why the code is so complex is simply beyond me. Even taxpayers who want to try to figure out how to do the right thing have a hard time doing it on their own and require the assistance of lawyers and accountants to figure out how to comply with the law."

Sen. Cornyn also discussed the importance of making the tax relief passed by Congress in 2001 and 2003 permanent as we work toward comprehensive reform of the tax system. The tax relief has put money back into the pockets of families and entrepreneurs, helped create millions of new jobs and boosted economic growth.

"While comprehensive tax reform may not be right around the corner, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on families and entrepreneurs and let the tax relief Congress passed in 2001 and 2003 expire," Sen. Cornyn said. "Yet, that's exactly what the new Democrat majority in Congress elected in November decided to do just last month."

Regarding transparency and the tax system, Sen. Cornyn said: "I believe we ought to continue to let in a little bit more sunshine in how government operates and how the people's money is being spent."

Sen. Cornyn held a roundtable discussion with small business owners and representatives at Manda Machine Company, Inc. in Dallas on Saturday on the burden of the current tax code and how to make it more simple, fair and transparent.

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