Rogers: Congress should completely throw out the Federal tax code

With Tax Day right around the corner, U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-AL03, is urging Congress to throw out the current tax code a replace it with something more simple and fair.

“America’s tax code is an embarrassment: too long, too complicated, and too full of loop holes,” Rogers said in a release. “We need a simpler and fairer tax code that encourages savings and investment and allows Americans to keep more of their hard-earned dollars.”

In an effort to begin the process of reforming the tax code, Rogers said he would like to see Congress bring H.R 352, the Tax Code Termination Act, to the floor for a vote.

Under the Tax Code Termination Act, no tax would be imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 beginning in 2018. The bill requires Congress to enact a new Federal tax system by July 4, 2017.

The Tax Reform Act of 1986 amended the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, but kept its same basic structure. It was the second of two major tax cuts enacted under President Ronald Reagan and is the last time the Federal tax code was simplified. The Act significantly reduced the number of deductions and decreased the number of tax brackets down to three. Most notably, the top tax rate was dropped from 50 percent to 28 percent.

The Tax Code Termination Act does not get specific about what should be done to reform the tax code, but lays out 6 principles that should be used to create a new system.

Here’s an excerpt from Section 3 of the bill:

The Congress hereby declares that any new Federal tax system should be a simple and fair system that —

(1) applies a low rate to all Americans;
(2) provides tax relief for working Americans;
(3) protects the rights of taxpayers and reduces tax collection abuses;
(4) eliminates the bias against savings and investment;
(5) promotes economic growth and job creation; and
(6) does not penalize marriage or families.

Rogers said his constituents have expressed their desire for major tax reform.

“Tax Day is rapidly approaching, and Americans are fed up with the burdensome tax code,” he said. “Hard-working folks in East Alabama know how to handle their money much better than the overzealous IRS. The current tax code is proof of so much of what is wrong with Washington, and it is time to get rid of it. I believe that creating a new tax code based on simplicity and fairness will help spur economic growth and job creation.”

Rogers is Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces. He is also a senior member of the Homeland Security and Agriculture Committees.

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