Ellen Tauscher: “If I might also add that I do believe that the people I represent want to see a less complicated tax system, want to see…”

“If I might also add that I do believe that the people I represent want to see a less complicated tax system, want to see it fairer. And I do, too. And they also want to see IRS reformed, which we passed in the House. It has not yet been taken up in the Senate, very important IRS reforms, changing the burden of proof from the taxpayer to the IRS in Tax Court, very significant changes that need to be moving quickly. One of the things I am concerned about is that we have passed IRS reform in the House, it has not been taken up yet in the Senate, and that needs to happen, so that we can--we need to be calling on the majority in the Senate to be bringing that up, because while we talk about the proposals that do not make sense for middle-class families and working people, we do know that there needs to be change and that there needs to be positive things. It is a question of where our values are, who it is that we believe needs to see tax cuts and tax reform. And my vote goes with small business people, family-owned farms, middle-class families working hard to make ends meet. Those are the folks who have not seen the same wage gains and have felt the burden, too much of the burden, on taxes. And so those are the folks I want to see helped, not the kinds of proposals that have been submitted on the other side of the aisle that will just increase their taxes.”