Roby: Extend Lower Tax Rates to All Americans

“I reject the view that allowing a tax hike in the middle of a painfully slow economic recovery is good for our economy.”

 

WASHINGTON—Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL) made the following comments today following the House approval of legislation to extend the reduced 2001 and 2003 tax rates:

“The legislation approved by the House tonight will prevent a $383 billion tax hike for all Americans. I am pleased to fully support its passage, and I urge the Senate and the President to work with us to stop the harmful tax increases that are scheduled to take place at the beginning of next year. We need to act now, not wait until the last minute. The use of this issue for political purposes will only result in more uncertainty and handwringing for hardworking American families that are trying to make ends meet.

“I reject the view that allowing a tax hike in the middle of a painfully slow economic recovery is good for our economy. Failure to act will result in less disposable income for millions of Americans, hamper growth, and slow job creation.

“Three years ago, President Obama engineered a massive expansion of social welfare programs that allocate federal dollars to certain individuals. Now, to pay for those programs, the President wants to raise taxes—but he only wants to raise the taxes of certain Americans that he believes should pay even more than they already do.

“President Obama makes these statements in the name of deficit reduction. But let’s be honest, President Obama is not interested in reducing the deficit—if he were, he would lead the charge to reduce future deficit spending. He has clearly not done so. What President Obama is truly interested in is redistributing private property from one group of people to another.  We’ve suspected that wealth redistribution was the motivation all along, but now all the pieces of the plan are evident.                                                                                                

“Fully extending the 2001 and 2003 tax rates has bipartisan support because members on both sides of the aisle realize that higher taxes will have a detrimental effect on economic growth and job creation. Our goal should be to provide a one-year extension of the lower rates while Congress works on comprehensive tax reform that simplifies the tax code and broadens the tax base. Filing your taxes should be as simple as filling out a survey on the back of a postcard. There is no reason why we can’t achieve that goal.”

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Note: Under current law, various low-tax policies enacted in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and the Jobs and Growth Tax Reconciliation Act of 2003, as subsequently extended as part of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, are scheduled to expire after December 31, 2012.

H.R. 8, the Job Protection and Recession Prevention Act of 2012, would extend the marginal tax rates for ordinary income earned by individuals and owners of small businesses organized for pass-through taxation (e.g., S corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietorships) that are currently scheduled to rise significantly in 2012.