Posted: Friday, Mar. 27, 2009
From Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., of Charlotte:
Many calendars have April 15 denoted as "Tax Day" as if it's a holiday! Maybe it is a holiday for the IRS, but for the rest of us it is a nightmare.
I think we sometimes forget that almost everything in America is now taxed.
We pay taxes when we pump gas, make a phone call or buy groceries. We pay taxes to get hunting or fishing licenses, when we purchase a car and register it each year. Let's not forget the taxes we pay on our property and our homes. We pay taxes on everything under the sun, and then the government sets aside April 15 as the day it wants us to make sure we paid them all.
The IRS estimates that it will take the average person 3 hours, 42 minutes to fill out a basic 1040 tax form. Add an additional 29 hours for record keeping, reading tax instructions, calculating what is owed and submitting the forms. When all is said and done, paying your taxes will take over 32 hours. Wouldn't you rather spend this time playing with your kids or enjoying a hobby?
Worse yet, filling out tax forms is filled with complexities, and we face severe penalties if we don't do it properly. The simple fact is that our tax system is out of control. We must make our tax system a more fair and simple process.
Currently, there is a bill before Congress called the Fair Tax Act. This bill would repeal the income tax and other taxes, abolish the Internal Revenue Service, and enact a national sales tax. I support this bill, and bills like it, because it would actually simplify our tax system, not just put more Band-Aids on a failed system.
I believe in the simple idea that tax dollars are the people's money – not the federal government's. The more money people have in their pockets, and the less the government gets in your way, the more prosperous America will be. Simplifying the tax code will save millions of tax dollars by eliminating the IRS, and would put more money in your pocket by eliminating unneeded and burdensome taxes.
Unfortunately, instead of making our tax system less complicated and less burdensome, the 2010 budget could bring the largest tax increase in U.S. history. Estimates show that this budget could raise taxes by $1.4 trillion over 10 years, hitting small businesses particularly hard. It will also bring back the estate tax, also known as the Death Tax, which is set to be repealed next year. This will tax people – even in death – punishing families for building up enough savings and property to pass onto their heirs.
All over the country people are organizing modern day "tea parties" against the out-of-control spending going on in Washington that is the cause of these tax increases. I'll be at one on April 4 in Charlotte – and I invite you to join me.
Remember that when you are filing your taxes, there is someone in Washington fighting to change the tax system so that you can keep more of your hard-earned money. We need tax simplification so that we get back those 32 hours each year, and so we can mark "Tax Day" off our calendars forever.
Myrick represents North Carolina's 9th Congressional District.
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