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Time to take pain out of Tax Day

April 15, 2010

The Gadsden Times
Guest Commentary: Time to take pain out of Tax Day
By Rep Robert Aderholt (AL-04)
Thursday, April 15, 2010

As millions of Americans file their income taxes Thursday, they are reminded how they labor under a national tax structure that discourages hard work and, at its core, remains unfair. Sadly, at a time when 15 million Americans remain unemployed and many more are struggling to make ends meet, many in Congress and the administration continue to advocate policies that increase taxes and add to government spending that already is out of control.

Federal, state and local taxes claim almost 27 percent of the average American’s income. That means most Americans have probably worked the first three months of this year just to pay their taxes. And if Democrats in Washington have their way, that burden will increase even more. There are many in Washington who continue to spend the federal government into a record deficit of $1.5 trillion this year alone. As of today, the national debt is $12.7 trillion and rising.

Unfortunately, the burden to pay for it will be heaped on the backs of American families, small businesses and family farms for years to come. According to the Tax Foundation, as of 2005, IRS regulations contained more than 6.9 million words — an increase since 1995 and almost nine times the total number of words in the King James Bible. Why in the world do there have to be so many IRS rules, regulations and mandates?

The income taxes Americans are paying today are only part of the exploding cost of government. Still, there are those who continue to push an agenda through Congress that is laying a heavy load on state and local governments. From New York to California, states are facing record deficits and are looking to increase taxes on everything from fast food to property.

Then there is the recent health care bill that was signed into law March 23. Just this week, the Joint Committee on Taxation reported that the health care bill would violate the president’s pledge by raising billions of dollars in taxes on those earning less than $200,000 a year. Keep in mind that the Joint Committee on Taxation is made up of six Democrats and four Republicans. Even Democratic tax experts in Congress acknowledge the health care bill would violate the president’s tax pledge.

For a vast majority of Americans, the cost of the president’s health care law is especially painful. The new law means their tax dollars now will be used to fund abortion services. Most Americans strongly oppose this deplorable use of their hard-earned money. But that did not stop the current leadership in Congress from ending more than 30 years of bipartisan agreement that barred the use of federal dollars for the destruction of unborn lives.

We must put an end to the president’s national energy tax and repeal his government-run health care law that included more than $1.2 trillion in new spending over the next 10 years and will increase taxes by $570 billion.

I have co-sponsored several bills that would reverse this trend of over-spending and over-taxing of the American people. I have co-sponsored the Death Tax Repeal Act (H.R. 205), the Economic Recovery and Middle-Class Tax Relief Act (H.R. 470), the Tax Code Termination Act (H.R. 982), the Welfare Reform Restoration Act (H.R. 1277), a bill to reduce our climbing deficit (H.R. 3140) and a bill to repeal the newly passed health care law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 4903). If you have time this week, please take a moment to research these bills.

The solution to our debt and over-spending problem is not taking more taxes from the American people. The answer is common sense fiscal discipline in Washington — and tax relief for working Americans. The American people already know we can’t spend and tax our way back to a growing economy. It’s time for Congress to put the American people first and take steps that begin to take the pain out of Tax Day.

Robert Aderholt, a Republican from Haleyville, is serving his seventh term as the U.S. Representative of the Fourth Congressional District of Alabama.