Raising taxes won’t help the economy

{mosads}A recent poll conducted by the Washington Post and ABC found that 85 percent of respondents approved of people doing all they could within the law to lower their taxes. That same poll found that 56 percent of those surveyed claimed to have an “unfavorable” impression of the federal income tax system. The sheer amount of a household’s income that goes to taxes could explain why.

According to the Tax Foundation, this year’s Tax Freedom Day falls on April 18. This means that 100 percent of the money earned by American workers during the first 108 days of the year, from January 1 to April 18, goes toward taxes. Despite this burden, President Obama unveiled his budget blueprint that would raise taxes on nearly every American. A recent study conducted by the Tax Policy Center found that, contrary to the president’s past commitments, some earning less than $100,000 would be hit with some sort tax increase. These tax, borrow, and spend policies will never get our country back on the right track.  

Washington doesn’t have a revenue problem, Washington has a spending problem. Raising taxes won’t curb our spending addiction, and until we can be good stewards of tax dollars, I don’t think we should ask Americans to pay more. We can and should simplify our tax code by closing loopholes; lowering taxes on individuals, families and businesses; and making it easier to file. Did you know it takes the average taxpayer roughly thirteen hours to file and pay their taxes each year? Similarly, 88 percent of all small business owners rely on outside help to prepare their taxes.

Because the current tax system needs work, I have cosponsored several pieces of legislation that would get our fiscal house back in order and reject certain proposed tax increases. For example, I am a proud cosponsor of H.Con.Res. 24, a resolution introduced by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) that states a carbon tax — like the Cap and Tax proposal rejected in 2009 — would be detrimental to the economy. Additionally, I have cosponsored H.R. 483, a bill introduced by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) that would permanently repeal the death tax. I’ve also supported Republican budget proposals that would balance the budget while setting the stage for tax reform. Rest assured I will continue to push for commonsense, responsible reforms to our tax code, as well as the necessary spending cuts that will get our deficit under control.

Roe is a member of the House Education and Workforce Committee.