Date: 1997-04-15
Speaker: SAM JOHNSON (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. believe it or not. today is tax day. It is on this day that every hardworking American sends more money than is necessary to the Federal Government. a day that most people probably would like to forget. Most Americans are tired of big government. high taxes. the complexity of the current Tax Code and. guess what. the IRS. Well. I am too. and I plan on doing something about it. Last week I introduced a bill that everyone can support and rally behind. It will unite Members and the public behind a common goal. eliminating the IRS and developing a new tax system. I think that is something every one understands and is energized about. My bill is called the tax freedom bill and would repeal the 16th amendment to the Constitution. That is the amendment that authorizes the income tax. The tax freedom bill is designed to reverse one of the most destructive amendments. in my view. to the U.S. Constitution. As most of my colleagues know. the 16th amendment was passed by Conof Representatives gress in 1909. ratified in 1913. and 480 can do anything. The original Tax upheld by the Supreme Court in 1916. It Code. by the way. only had 11.000plus has been 81 years since the Supreme words in it. Today it has 7 million plus. Courts approval and Congress. in all It does not reduce bureaucracy. The its wisdom. has developed a tax system IRS staff is over 100.000. about 110.000. that has become the most economi- one of the most outofcontrol big govcally destructive and possibly complex. ernment staffs that we have. more peooverly intrusive. unprincipled. dishon- ple in the IRS getting intoour pockets est. unfair. and inefficient system in than there are immigration and custhis Nations history. I do not think toms agents on our borders. anybody can disagree with that. The current system discourages savThe current Tax Code has become an ings and investment by taxing income uncontrollable and rampant institution when we earn it. taxes it when we save with no regard for what has made this it. taxes us when we invest it. and country great. individual freedom. taxes us again when we die. Mr. Speaker. there is a bill on the It is not efficient. Complying with. I floor that we will consider today that think. the Federal Tax Code costs taxillustrates the problems we face. The payers more than $600 billion a year. bill makes browsing or snooping Replacing this system will cause inthrough taxpayer files a crime. subject- terest rates to go down. by every testiing offenders to criminal penalties of mony that we have had. and savings up to $100.000 and/or 1 year in jail. To and capital investment to increase. me this is a serious violation of pri- Finally. we have stifled opportunity vacy. and I am greatly disturbed that by designing a system that picks winhas been allowed to occur within the ners and losers. one in which WashingIRS. ton decides what is best for the people Mr. Speaker. this is just one more instead of letting the people decide reason why the IRS should be abol- what is best for America. ished. It is time for us to stop tinker- As recently as 1982. Americans paid ing around the edges. time for us to get only 19.9 percent of their income in serious and abolish the IRS and replace taxes. New data reveals that in 1995 the current system. Americans paid 31.3 percent of their inThe tax freedom bill is the first step come in taxes. the highest level in histo do that. I believe it will encourage tory. and that does not count local and an open. honest. and constructive de- State. If we add those in. we are paying bate about why our current tax struc- nearly 50 percent. 51. I guess. ture has failed and what we should ex- Mr. Speaker. those that say the syspect. By embracing the principles of tem can be fixed are crazy. in my view. freedom. we can create a system that is It has undergone 31 major revisions and fair and simple. that reduces the bu- 400 minor ones in the past 40 years. I reaucracy. that encourages savings. believe any new system must be based that is efficient. that drives the econ- on a vision of America that places the omy. that creates opportunity for all individual. not the Government. in and finally puts more money in our charge. pockets. The current system fails to meet these commonsense criteria. It is not THE AMERICAN DREAM TAX fair or simple. FAIRNESS EQUITY ACT OF 1997 The current system has 480 different The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. forms plus 280 more to say how to fill SNOWBARGER). Under the Speakers anout the 480. Explain to me how the first nounced policy of January 21. 1997. the Matter set in thiS typeface indicates words inserted or appended. rather than spoken. by a Member of the House on the floor. Printed on recycled paper containing 100% post consumer waste Unitid States gentleman from Montana is recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.