Speaker of the House Paul Ryan recently sat down for a Facebook Live chat with ATR President Grover Norquist to discuss plans to radically reform America’s cumbersome and uncompetitive tax system – making it simpler and fairer for American families, workers, and businesses.
Speaking to Grover, Ryan flagged a number of reforms including the doubling of the standard deduction and consolidating the current 7 tax brackets into just 3 – 12, 25 and 35 percent. The change will bring income earners into lower brackets, allowing workers in all brackets to take home more of their own money. Many of those on low incomes will fall into the 0% bracket and won’t need to pay income tax at all. With so many lower and middle income Americans shouldering an ever-growing tax burden, the changes offer respite to those who need it the most.
But the reforms also radically simplify the system. 9 out of 10 US taxpayers currently need to enlist accountants to complete their taxes. Removing complex itemized deductions in favor of a simple doubled standard deduction allows taxpayers to replace complicated, multiple-page forms with a simple postcard-sized return. These returns can be filled out in minutes rather than days, with no professional help.
Grover also asked Speaker Ryan about his commitment to ATR’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge – a written commitment to taxpayers to oppose and vote against all income tax increases. Over 1,400 officials nationwide have taken the pledge. Ryan, a signatory since 1998, noted that the reforms are consistent with his commitment by ensuring that no individuals or businesses are worse off as all deductions and credits eliminated are met or exceeded by a matching tax cut.
Speaker Ryan and the current administration should be commended for making badly needed tax reform a priority. These timely changes will attract investment, create jobs, foster competition and grow the paychecks of working people nationwide.
A brief summary of the uniform tax reform framework can be viewed here.