Issue Position: Tax Reform

Issue Position

Our taxes are too high and too complicated. The individual and corporate tax codes distort the financial decisions of individuals and businesses, leading them to base spending, investment, and saving on tax considerations, not economic benefits. I will work in Congress to reduce our taxes and simplify our tax code to return power from Washington to taxpayers.

I will fight to stop the many tax increases looming over our economy. The so-called "fiscal cliff" legislation extended the Bush tax cuts for most American families and businesses, but thousands will see their taxes increase substantially in 2013. I will vote to repeal ObamaCare and its $500 billion in tax increases. And I will stand up to President Obama's obsession with raising taxes on small businesses and entrepreneurs--the very people America needs most to help create jobs and grow the economy.

I will also work for fundamental tax reform of our individual and corporate tax codes. One reason our tax rates are so high is the countless special-interest carve-outs and loopholes that reduce the overall tax base, which are offset by higher rates. These complicated deductions primarily benefit the richest individuals and businesses, which have the ability to take advantage of them. By eliminating these loopholes, we can lower tax rates, reduce tax-compliance costs, make the tax code fairer and more competitive, and ignite economic growth and job creation. A growing economy will produce more tax revenue under the lower rates than our current complicated system, just as happened after President Reagan signed the Tax Reform Act of 1986.

Finally, I will fight against unfair and counterproductive taxes on savings and investment. The death tax must be eliminated once and for all. This unfair tax hits small businesses and family farms particularly hard and penalizes Americans for a lifetime of economic innovation, hard work, and frugal living--and a lifetime of paying taxes. We should also reduce the capital-gains and dividend taxes, with the ultimate goal of eliminating them. These taxes discourage saving and investment, which impedes economic growth and job creation.

Source