Lowering Taxes and Reforming Our Tax System

Taxpayer dollars are best left in the hands of the people who earned them. Lowering taxes and reforming our tax structure are vital steps to stimulate our economy and expand our job base.

Making the 2001 and 2003 Tax Cuts Permanent

I have always believed that taxpayer dollars are best left in the hands of the people who earned them. In 2001, Congress passed the largest tax relief package in a generation. I voted for this plan while serving in the U.S. House because it reduced taxes for everyone who pays income taxes, eliminated the death tax and marriage penalty tax, and increased the child tax credit.

This tax relief is set to expire in 2011, meaning that taxes will increase for American families and businesses unless Congress acts to make the tax cuts permanent. I will do everything I can to see that we take action.

I also supported the 2003 Jobs and Growth Package to speed up the 2001 tax cuts, decrease the double taxation of dividends and capital, and increase small business expensing for new investment. This package immediately sent tax money back to an estimated 2.4 million Georgians and 614,000 Georgia businesses of all sizes.

Capital Gains Taxes

I believe one of the major barriers to economic growth is the enormous amount of capital held hostage by capital gains taxes. Many Americans have mature stock, bond or real estate investments that they would be eager to sell and reinvest. This reinvestment would stimulate the economy, improve the stock market and create jobs. But instead, billions of dollars that could be available for investment sit idle because of capital gains taxes. I will look for ways to reduce and eliminate the capital gains tax.

Alternative Minimum Tax

I believe the alternative minimum tax, known as the AMT, is an overly burdensome tax that is hitting more and more middle income families every year. I voted in 2008 to temporarily prevent the AMT from hitting millions more taxpayers, and I will work to bring more permanent relief from this tax burden. The AMT was originally enacted to ensure that all taxpayers, especially high-income taxpayers, paid at least a minimum amount of federal taxes. However, the AMT is not indexed for inflation, and this factor combined with the recent reductions in the regular income tax has greatly expanded the potential number of taxpayers who would have to pay the AMT.

The Isakson Tax Code Termination Act

The tax code is a source of anxiety and frustration for many Americans, and I believe that the time has come to pursue fundamental changes to our tax system. It is my opinion that the only way for all types of reform to receive a fair hearing is to lay all options on the table. Therefore, I have introduced legislation that terminates the current tax code and forces Congress to come up with a simpler, fairer tax code.

My legislation would repeal the U.S. tax code and create a commission charged with reporting to Congress plausible reform options. The Tax Code Termination Act would create a commission that would analyze reform options and report its findings to Congress. The commission would review the current tax code with respect to its impact on the economy, families and the workforce, its compliance costs to taxpayers, small business and corporations, and the Internal Revenue Service’s ability to administer the current code.

The commission would also consider whether the income tax should be replaced with a flat tax, a national sales tax or another system. The bill would terminate the current tax code on December 31, 2013. History has taught us that if we don’t impose a deadline and terminate the tax code by a date certain, overhauling our inefficient system is nearly impossible.

Fair Tax

As I have in years past, I am a cosponsor of legislation to repeal the tax code and establish a national sales tax, the Fair Tax (S.296). Our current tax code is overly complex and must be simplified. Congress owes all of us a simpler, fairer method of taxation.