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ATR President Grover Norquist today submitted testimony to the House Ways and Means Tax Policy Subcommittee for a hearing examining perspectives on the need for tax reform.

The tax code has not be significantly altered since 1986, and there is a clear need to kick start this process. Spanning 74,608 pages, it is so complex and confusing that it is virtually impossible for taxpayers to know whether they are properly filing their taxes.

The byzantine, overly complex code has a crushing effect on both low and middle-income families but also on American competitiveness in the global economy. For decades, America has been the world leader in innovative ideas and products, and other countries are aggressively implementing pro-growth tax policies to attract American capital and jobs.

One way to get the ball rolling on tax reform, as Norquist points out, is to pass H.R. 27, the Tax Code Termination Act sponsored by Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) This legislation sunsets the entire tax code by January 1, 2020, and calls on Congress to replace it with a fairer, simpler tax system.

Once the code is on the pathway to sunset, lawmakers create a tax code that works for all Americans, that has minimal burden on taxpayers, eliminates the bias against savings and investment, and promotes job creation and growth.

The full testimony can be found here.