Issue Position: Taxes

Issue Position

Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen has always worked hard in Congress to rid Americans of the burden of high taxes so that families can keep more of the money they have worked so hard to earn. She has worked to pass legislation to lower the income tax rate, eliminate the death tax and reduce the marriage penalty tax. Additionally, she supports legislation to encourage investments, saving, and education and has pushed for a proposal to provide special tax incentives in our community to create jobs, stimulate investment and help families in low income neighborhoods. Ileana has also supported various bills to eliminate unfair taxes, such as pushing for legislation to protect the rights of taxpayers for the reduction of tax collection abuses and the elimination of the bias against savings and investment.

Ileana is a cosponsor of and voted for the Death Tax Elimination Act to eliminate the onerous federal tax on inheritances and family owned businesses, which became public law, and she is also a member of the End the Death Tax Caucus. She has also supported the marriage penalty relief legislation. Both of these tax reforms measures were included in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act which passed the House and became public law.

In addition to these efforts, Ileana recently cosponsored legislation to make the marriage penalty relief and death tax repeal permanent. She voted for a bill to make elimination of the death tax permanent which passed the House.

Ileana is also a cosponsor of the Sales Tax Equity Act which would ensure that taxpayers living in a state like Florida that do not collect state income taxes are eligible for a federal tax deduction. Currently, taxpayers in Florida pay state and local taxes but are not eligible for this deduction as are taxpayers in other states.

For her unwavering support of lower taxes and a reduction of wasteful government spending, the National Federation of Independent Business, the largest small business organization in the country, recognized Ros-Lehtinen with its "Guardian of Small Business" award. "Families should be allowed to keep more of what they earn without it being taxed away by the government. The tax burden on American families is too high, and I will continue to support efforts in Washington that reduce that burden," affirmed Ros-Lehtinen.

Spending Taxes Wisely:

Necessary spending for improving the quality of education, health care services, national defense, and veterans' benefits may be partially achieved by eliminating wasteful and unnecessary spending. I have long supported a legislative line item veto for the President as one of the fiscally responsible measures which will help in eliminating boondoggles like the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere."

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