Political Quotes

“Here we are 5 weeks from the time that we all have to file our income taxes--April 17 this year. It's 99 years since this House enacted the progressive income tax that we now all know by its familiar names that we all use for it. I thought it might be appropriate to spend some time this evening talking about our Tax Code and talking about what might be possible in fundamental reform of the Tax Code. I have long been a proponent of what is known as a flat tax. I think that is something that is worthy of this House taking up and debating. There is legislation that has been introduced, H.R. 1040 for people who are keeping score at home, and I think this would be a rational approach for people who want to be treated fairly by the Tax Code--our President does talk about fairness in the Tax Code--and for people who are wanting to get out of the tyranny of having to live with a shoe box full of receipts every spring, because I know this weekend when I go home, I'm going to be spending some time with that shoe box of receipts. The flat tax is an idea that was promulgated by my predecessor here in this House, the former majority leader, Dick Armey. He wrote a book about the flat tax in 1995. I've read it, I embraced it, and I thought it was some of the smartest economic policy I had ever read because I had just lived through what I described as the Clinton paradox.…”