Issues

Cutting Taxes and Government Spending

The federal tax code is far too complicated. It is more than 60,000 pages long - a full third of which have been added over the past decade. But we could alleviate or eliminate many of these frustrations through some basic simplification.

April 15 should not be a date Oklahomans dread. We need a tax system that is easy to understand and encourages Americans to invest, save, and spend wisely.

Dan Boren has made tax reform a priority issue since arriving in Congress. As a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, Boren believes the first step to lowering taxes for Americans is reigning in excessive federal spending. He is a lead supporter of a constitutional amendment requiring Congress to balance the federal budget every year. In his words "if American families are forced to make tough choices to balance their budgets, then Congress should held to the same standard. The years of passing the buck and borrowing money from China need to end. We must reign in the cost of government and lower the tax burden on American families and businesses."

Some of the common-sense tax proposals that Dan Boren has strongly advocated for include:

• Extending the Indian Lands Tax Credit, which has proven to be vital for encouraging businesses to relocate to our state and provide good jobs for Oklahomans

• Voting for a repeal of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), a tax originally created to prevent millionaires from avoiding paying taxes that is now hitting families with incomes as low as $50,000.

• Supporting a full repeal of the Estate Tax so that that federal government can't tax you on your death bed

• Supporting an expansion of the Child Tax Credit so working families can keep more of their own money.

• Supporting numerous tax credits that allow families to save for retirement, teachers and students to buy school supplies and seniors to save on prescription drugs.