Our tax code is a mess, and that’s putting it lightly. Multiple brackets. High rates. Special interest breaks everywhere. Rules and regulations that are too complicated to understand. It costs more and more each year just to do your taxes, let alone pay them.
All of this drags people down and leaves them buried in paperwork and compliance problems. Instead of bringing jobs to America, our tax code is pushing jobs overseas. Even worse, the agency charged with overseeing all of this—the IRS—has repeatedly violated the trust of the American taxpayer.
This week, President Trump laid out his plan to seriously overhaul our tax code and make the IRS as we know it today cease to exist. Like me, he knows that it is time to get Washington out of people’s paychecks and savings and fix our broken tax code.
First, we must create a tax system that brings jobs to America. Hard-working Americans deserve a tax system that creates jobs here at home, not drives them overseas.
Second, we are going to make taxes simple! Since 2001, the U.S. tax code has been changed nearly 6,000 times. That’s more than once a day. Right now, it costs Americans over four hundred and nine BILLION dollars to comply with our tax laws. It is ridiculous to have a tax code so complicated that people must PAY to find out how much they owe the federal government.
We are going to cut out loopholes that increase confusion and keep rates artificially high. This will make the tax code dramatically simpler and fairer while also taking less money from families and job creators. On top of this, we will make it easier and more rewarding for families to save, invest, and plan for the future. Bottom line, the government should be taking the least amount of money from people as possible.
Third, we are going to bust up the IRS. The IRS is an overgrown bureaucratic mess. I sent President Trump a letter asking him to fire the untrustworthy IRS Commissioner, John Koskinen. Koskinen refuses to be held accountable. He has lied to Congress, destroyed evidence we requested and worst of all, has completely ignored customer service. Less than half of all taxpayers who call the IRS for help are able to reach a live person and the wait time if you can reach someone is over 30 minutes. It’s unacceptable. We must give the IRS a single mission – taxpayer service. People who are employed by the IRS need to understand who they work for and that is you, the hard-working taxpayer.
I know taxes have been a major burden in your life, and we must change that. Missourians work too hard every day for taxes to keep them from getting ahead and providing for their families. I am fighting for a simpler, fairer and flatter tax code that will bring jobs back to America and keep more money in your pocket!
