Joseph Knollenberg: “the American people are overtaxed, and it is time for Congress and the President to let them keep more of their…”

“the American people are overtaxed, and it is time for Congress and the President to let them keep more of their hard-earned money. This year, Federal taxes will represent 22 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. This means that the Federal tax burden is at an all-time high. With the Federal Government projected to run a budget surplus of $2.6 trillion over the next 10 years, there is no excuse for taxing the American people at a higher rate than was necessary to win World War II. On the opening day of the 106th Congress, I introduced a bill that cuts Federal income taxes by 10 percent across the board. This proposal is the simplest and the fairest way to provide the American people with the tax relief that they deserve. Instead of picking winners and losers among overtaxed Americans, this proposal increases the take-home pay of everyone who pays Federal income taxes. We should not require taxpayers to engage in a government-preferred activity or force them to jump through multiple hoops in order to keep more of their own money. A broad-based tax cut avoids adding further complexity to the Tax Code and gives all American workers the relief that they need. In recent years, efforts to provide the American people with significant tax relief has been derailed by the contention that cutting taxes would hurt Social Security. This has always been a shaky argument, but it does not even have a leg to stand on today. Here is some arithmetic or numbers to keep in mind.…”