Porter Goss: “Today is tax freedom day, the day that working Americans can finally stop toiling for the Government and begin to keep…”

“Today is tax freedom day, the day that working Americans can finally stop toiling for the Government and begin to keep their earnings to provide for themselves and their families. By any measure, taxes are continuing to grow at a record pace, consuming an even greater portion of taxpayer income. The average American family pays more in total taxes than it spends on food, clothing, and shelter combined. Put another way, the typical American now works nearly 3 hours out of every 8-hour workday just to pay taxes. These examples demonstrate what the American taxpayer already knows--all Americans are overtaxed. A recent Reader's Digest poll underscores this fact. According to the poll, the maximum tax load Americans believe a family of four should bear is 25 percent--that's not just Federal income taxes but all levels of taxation--a far cry from the 38 percent that the average family actually pays today. This Congress has responded by moving to repeal the fundamentals of the 1993 Clinton tax hike on working Americans--the tax hike on seniors' Social Security benefits and the increase in the gas tax that all Americans are feeling at the pump today. We have passed meaningful tax relief for families that would have erased the income tax burden entirely for 140,000 taxpayers in my State of Florida alone. While we have done our job, President Clinton has consistently opposed and obstructed our tax relief every step of the way.”