Taxes

To put it simply, the federal government does not tax too little; it spends too much.  Tax increases are not the answer to our fiscal problems.  In fact, tax increases at this time of economic recession will only delay economic recovery and make American families’ financial situations worse.

Both Republicans and Democrats are guilty of creating the situation we’re now in, but I believe Republicans have the best plan for turning our economy around.

We must make the federal tax code simpler and fairer.  Additionally, we should make recent tax cuts permanent and avoid increasing taxes at the worst possible time for struggling families.

We should permanently repeal death taxes and the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT).  Death taxes take money out of our Kentucky communities from small businesses and family farms.  Let’s allow families to keep their hard-earned money to allow for investments in growing small businesses and creating more jobs.  The AMT is expected to affect as many as 50 million taxpayers in coming years.  It was originally intended to affect only the wealthiest taxpayers.

Let’s make the following tax cuts permanent:

• End the marriage penalty.
• Keep the child tax credit at current rates.
• Maintain a low level of taxation on capital gains and dividends
• Permanently extend tax credits for research and development

If I am elected to the U.S. Senate, Kentuckians can count on me to keep my word that I will oppose tax increases and work to reduce the burden that federal taxes place on every family and small business.

Read More On Out of Control Spending

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
“The White House disclosed the other day that the fiscal 2009 budget deficit clocked in at $1.4 trillion, amid the usual promises to do something about it. Yet even as budget director Peter Orszag was speaking, House Democrats were moving on a dozen spending bills for fiscal 2010 that total 12.1% in more domestic discretionary increases.  Yes, 12.1%.  Remember, inflation is running close to zero, or 0.8%.”

“These spending hikes do not include the so-called mandatory spending programs like Medicare and Medicaid, which exploded by 9.8% and 24.7%, respectively, in the just-ended 2009 fiscal year. All of this largesse is also on top of the stimulus funding that agencies received in 2009. The budget for the Environmental Protection Agency rose 126%, the Department of Education budget 209% and energy programs 146%.”

“More broadly, the White House and the 111th Congress have already enacted or proposed $3.4 trillion of new spending through 2019 for things like the health-care plan, cap and tax, and the children's health bill passed earlier this year. Very little of this has been financed with offsetting spending cuts elsewhere in the budget.”

Editorial, “The Spending Rolls On,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/26/09