RSC Announces American Taxpayer Bill of Rights

THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER
BILL OF RIGHTS

We, the Republican Study Committee, are committed to a principled and accountable approach to spending hard-working Americans' taxpayer dollars. Unless we act today, within a generation Americans will face either a crushing tax burden or a federal government that is reduced to little more than Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. As a matter of principle, we believe the American people deserve truth in budgeting and have a right to know how federal dollars are spent. In an effort to reclaim our roots as the party of fiscal discipline and defender of the American taxpayer, the Republican Study Committee is proud to announce a new Taxpayer Bill of Rights. We stand committed to the belief that:

  • Taxpayers have a right to have a federal government that does not grow beyond their ability to pay for it.
  • Taxpayers have a right to receive back each dollar that they entrust to the government for their retirement.
  • Taxpayers have a right to expect the government to balance the budget without having their taxes raised.
  • Taxpayers have a right to a simple, fair tax code that they can understand.
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    To ensure these taxpayer rights, House conservatives hereby pledge to:

    Restore fiscal discipline and find innovative new ways to do MORE with LESS. The federal budget must not grow faster than American families' ability to pay for it. Some Democrats look at our $8.8 trillion debt and say now is the time to raise taxes on hard-working Americans. They believe we can tax our way out of debt. They are wrong. We do not have an $8.8 trillion debt because Washington taxes too little; we have an $8.8 trillion debt because Washington spends too much. And it needs to stop. If families in America can tighten their belts, so too can bureaucrats in Washington. No more hidden earmarks. No more runaway entitlement spending. No more mortgaging our children's future. No more bridges to nowhere.

    Live up to our moral responsibility to save and secure Social Security for hard-working Americans and future generations. A safe, secure, and stable retirement is part of the American dream. Yet time and again, Washington has proven itself incapable of managing Americans' hard earned Social Security dollars. There is something fundamentally wrong when more young Americans believe in the existence of UFOs than believe that their Social Security benefits will be there for them when they retire. The simple fact is, should we do nothing, the government will begin to pay out more in Social Security benefits than it collects in payroll taxes. Eventually the system will be bankrupt. That is unacceptable. Taxpayers have the right to receive back each and EVERY dollar that they entrust to the government for their retirement. And we pledge to see to it that they do. The RSC will propose legislation this year making it against the law to spend Social Security money collected from Americans on anything other than Social Security. Ensuring a stable retirement is not a Republican or Democrat obligation, it is an AMERICAN obligation.

    Balance the budget WITHOUT raising taxes: Whether it is a water tax, a gas tax, a payroll tax, a utility tax, a cable tax, or a property tax, we are taxed from the minute we wake up in the morning with that first cup of coffee to the minute we turn off the lights to go to sleep. And it needs to stop. You can't say you are fighting for the American taxpayer AND support higher taxes. Taxpayers have a right to a balanced budget WITHOUT having their taxes raised. The RSC will offer a common-sense, balanced-budget amendment, which will guarantee that our children inherit a deficit-free future without massive tax increases. Simply put, a balanced-budget amendment is the ONLY indisputable way to achieve deficit reduction in America, and we pledge to see it through.

    Create a common-sense tax code that is simple, fair and consistent: We commit to ending the IRS as we know it today. Again, there is something fundamentally wrong when we have a tax code that is seven times longer than the Bible. Though comprehensive tax reform has been on the GOP agenda since 1994, the tax code today remains a nightmare. Believe it or not, the tax code now consists of over 9,000,000 words and forces Americans to work billions of additional hours just trying to FIGURE IT OUT – let alone afford the bill. Is it any wonder that 60% of Americans pay someone else to prepare their taxes for them? Bottom line … we are an overtaxed nation and we believe that hardworking Americans deserve a break. The time has come for Congress to sunset the entire Internal Revenue Code and set a hard date for its final ELIMINATION. Only then can we achieve true and meaningful tax reform in America.

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    For those who believe Washington spends too much, we agree. For those who believe Washington still taxes too much, we agree. For those who believe we must balance the budget, cut wasteful Washington spending and provide further, permanent tax relief, we agree. And so we pledge to do it better and get it RIGHT. The RSC will work tirelessly to decrease the federal budget so that hardworking Americans can keep more of what they earn. Leaders in Washington must never forget that tax money belongs to the taxpayers, not the government. Relief is on the way.