Bradley Byrne: Our tax code is in desperate need of reform
You have all heard the quote before: “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Just this week, many Americans are scrambling as we hit the filing deadline for 2016 individual tax returns. Studies have shown that American families spend over 6 billion hours a year filing their taxes. That adds up to almost 700,000 years. Those numbers are astonishing. The numbers also demonstrate the very serious challenges caused by our complex tax code. It is too long, too complicated, and too hard to understand. Americans are forced to spend precious time researching, studying, or paying for services just to figure out how much money they owe the government. There is something wrong with that picture. Individuals aren’t the only ones who are hit hard by our complicated and outdated tax code. At 39.1%, the United States has the third highest top marginal corporate tax rate in the world. Only Chad and the United Arab Emirates have a higher rate. With a tax code that is thousands of pages long, businesses large and small spend billions of dollars on fees paid to accountants and tax lawyers to file their taxes. There is a better way. Congress can eliminate hundreds of deductions and credits, many of which benefit only one or a handful of special interests, and use those savings to substantially lower tax rates for individuals and businesses. This would create a fairer, simpler, and cleaner tax code. If done correctly, most Americans would only have to fill out a one page return and at the same time pay less in taxes. With lower rates, American corporations could better compete in the world economy, businesses of all sizes would have a level playing field, and more jobs would be created. This type of reform is long overdue. In fact, it has been almost 30 years since Congress last made significant reforms to the tax code. If you are wondering whether or not tax reform can grow the economy, just look at what happened in the 1980s under President Reagan. In 1981, President Reagan helped push a 25 percent across-the-board tax cut through Congress. He followed that up in 1986 with the largest simplification of the tax code ever achieved. These reforms clearly worked and the economic statistics prove it. From 1982 through 1990, our country experienced the longest period of sustained economic growth during peacetime in American history. The economy grew by about one-third in real, inflation-adjusted dollars. Tax reform is without a doubt a boon for the economy. That’s why I have co-sponsored a bill that would help force Congress to take up the very serious issue of tax reform. H.R. 27, the Tax Code Termination Act, would sunset the current tax code on December 31, 2019. By putting an end date on the tax code, Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle would have no choice but to get serious about rewriting the entire tax code. People will say that tax reform is too hard and that it can’t be done in today’s political climate. But I don’t believe I was elected to make easy choices. Instead, I was elected to work toward commonsense solutions that help the American people. A simplified tax code is exactly the type of the reform the American people are looking for. So as this Tax Day comes and passes, I vow to continue fighting for a simplified tax code that makes life easier for American families while also promoting economic growth. • • • Bradley Byrne is a member of U.S. Congress representing Alabama’s 1st Congressional District.
GOP official rails over effort aimed at nomination rules
In an extraordinary display of internal discord, the chairman of the Republican Party’s rules committee accused top GOP officials Saturday of “a breach of our trust” by improperly trying to impede a proposed change in bylaws that would make it harder for party leaders to nominate a fresh candidate for president. Bruce Ash, RNC committeeman from Arizona, wrote the harshly worded email to the other 55 members of the GOP rules committee that he chairs. The confidential email, obtained by The Associated Press, was written days before party officials gather in Hollywood, Florida, for preliminary discussions about what rules the GOP will use at its presidential nominating convention this July. Ash wrote the note at a time when some top Republicans consider the party’s two leading presidential contenders, billionaire Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, to be likely November election losers and have discussed how to replace them with alternatives at the summer convention in Cleveland, Ohio. It is possible that no contenders will have the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the nomination at that gathering, which would produce the first GOP convention without a presumptive nominee since 1976. Trump has bitterly clashed with party leaders over rules that he claims have been rigged against him, a charge party leaders deny. Ash said he has “become troubled” during discussions with RNC Chairman Reince Priebus and other party officials that by not making the proposed change, GOP officials “could use their power to attempt to achieve a political result” at the nominating convention. He said the convention’s presiding officer could use existing rules to “unilaterally reopen nominations to allow a candidate to be nominated that is viewed as more acceptable, which is exactly what so many rank-and-file Republicans across America fear.” His email did not mention that House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is expected to be presiding officer for much of the convention. Some opponents of Trump and Cruz have suggested that Ryan, his party’s 2012 vice presidential candidate, would be a preferable presidential nominee this year, but Ryan has said he doesn’t want to be tabbed. In an email sent hours later, RNC chief counsel John Ryder said the controversial amendment would, in fact, be included among the items given priority consideration when party officials discuss convention rules this week in Florida. But echoing the view of Priebus and some other Republicans on the party’s rules committee, Ryder added, “Major changes now are dangerous and not a good idea, in my humble opinion.” Many Republican leaders have said party officials should not change current convention rules for fear of being accused by the competing presidential candidates of tilting the bylaws to influence the outcome. They have noted that the final decisions on the rules will be made anyway by the convention’s 2,472 delegates, probably on July 18, the gathering’s first day. When Republicans meet in Florida next week to discuss their rules, Oregon RNC committeeman Solomon Yue wants to propose not running full convention meetings under the rules of the House of Representatives, a long tradition. Instead, Yue wants to use Roberts Rules of Order. Yue and others say under the Roberts rules, it would be easier for the convention’s delegates to vote to block an effort by the convention’s presiding officer to consider new nominees for president. Under House rules, the presiding officer has more power to make decisions about the proceedings. Ash said RNC officials have repeatedly asked him and Yue to withdraw Yue’s proposal or even to cancel this week’s GOP rules committee meeting. Ash said he refused. He said that last Thursday, Ryder “convened a rules committee whip call to strategize against and led the opposition to the Yue amendment at the chairman’s request.” He said during that call, RNC officials acknowledged that Yue’s amendment had been “pre-submitted” by a deadline that would give it priority treatment his week. But the next afternoon, Ash said, the RNC sent an email “incorrectly stating” that Yue’s proposed amendment had not been submitted in time to be included in the agenda for next week’s meeting. That would deprive it of priority consideration. “In view of the above, I consider this to be a breach of our trust,” Ash wrote. He added, “In light of this breach and an apparent unwillingness to conduct a proper debate on the amendment, is it prudent for the RNC to continue to give the extraordinary power of the House rules to the presiding officer of the convention, as opposed to the more transparent, democratic and majoritarian rules in Roberts?” Ryder wrote that party officials thought they were following Yue’s desire to circulate his amendment to delegates early next week, even though Yue submitted his proposal in time for the earlier “pre-submission deadline.” “Of course, we wouldn’t have left out Mr. Yue’s amendment from the notice if we thought he wanted it included,” Ryder wrote. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers
A roundup of Sunday editorials from Alabama’s leading newspapers: Anniston Star – Planning for the new Anniston Nearly 50 years ago, Chattanooga’s outlook lay — figuratively, if not literally — in ruins. Pollution was out of control. The city’s air quality was horrendous. City officials seemed wholly unprepared to offer solutions. It got so bad that in 1969 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency named Chattanooga the most polluted city in America. But look at Chattanooga today. That city on the Tennessee River is now hailed as a one of the nation’s top civic reclamation projects. Pollutants no longer foul Chattanooga’s air and water at record levels. Economic development there is the envy of other like-sized Southern cities. The decisions Chattanooga’s civic leaders made after the EPA’s announcement turned a disaster into one of the South’s more attractive destinations. In a sense, that is Anniston’s path today. Birmingham News – Implore our legislature to stop cuts to Alabama Medicaid If we expect our state to cultivate a legacy of goodwill, care for those most in need, and protect economic growth, we owe it to ourselves to implore our legislature to stop cuts to Alabama Medicaid. We Alabamians have a proud heritage of expressing goodwill. We were the first state to extend married property acts to women, and we were the birthplace of Helen Keller, who cultivated minds and hearts through kind instruction and advocacy. We contributed to trips to the moon and birthed playwrights and songwriters the world over. Our history is littered with examples of such generousness and good intention. If our recent history has revealed anything, however, it is that our government is acting to disavow this heritage entirely by proposing draconian cuts to one of the few services that actually benefits working-class Alabamians, Alabama Medicaid. In a perversity of epidemic proportions, our legislature, and now our governor, are mulling cuts to Medicaid that are both fiscally and pragmatically unsound while they pass bills to pay millions for new prisons. As a perverse corollary, it may be that some of them hope to kill two birds with one stone since under their leadership many within our intellectually disabled population have been erroneously sent to those locations anyway. Erin Edgemon, As Alabama psychiatric hospitals close, county jails struggle to house mentally ill, disabled inmates, AL.com, July 30, 2014, https://www.al.com/news/montgomery/index.ssf/2014/07/as_alabama_psychiatric_hospita.html . These proposed cuts fail economic common sense too. Studies have repeatedly shown that Medicaid benefits actually stimulate economic growth. If Medicaid were revoked, the families of the disabled, seniors, and children receiving benefits (and the businesses that employ these families) would be on the hook, then, for the $6.4 billion in medical care that these persons currently require. Additionally, the loss of even a portion of this money can also affect the availability of medical care to all Alabamians since rural healthcare providers depend on Medicaid funding for a good portion of their revenue, making the economic impact of their cuts even worse for the vast majority of Alabamians. Decatur Daily – Be cautious driving in work zones A accident Thursday that resulted in the death of one Alabama Department of Transportation worker and injuries to another should come as a grim reminder to area drivers. The accident occurred in a work zone on the Interstate 65 bridge near Priceville. Two northbound vehicles collided, slamming into a parked ALDOT vehicle and the workers, both pedestrians. While details are sketchy, it’s an accident that should not have happened. Orange cones, construction signs and ALDOT trucks made it abundantly clear workers were in the area. The Decatur area is overwhelmed with such work zones. They’re on Wilson Street Northeast, the U.S. 31 bridge, all over downtown and on many other streets. Drivers tend to curse them as they desperately seek to make it to work or the next appointment. The frustration too often contributes to aggressive driving. But as Thursday’s accident made clear, no appointment is so urgent it justifies driving recklessly through work zones. Dothan Eagle – Teachers deserve a vote of confidence In an April 14 Eagle article, Montana Magnet School teacher Dawn Davis spoke about how she enjoys teaching math, and how her students respond to her methods of making instruction come alive. Recently, she gave the students a math problem dealing with area and perimeter around their homes. “I love bringing the real world into math,” she said. Marsh is a contender for Alabama Teacher of the Year, the third consecutive Dothan educator to vie for the state’s top teaching honor. It’s a validation of her abilities, and the consistent placement of Dothan teachers in the competition over the years speaks volumes about the dedication and invention of our entire local cadre of educators. Teacher of the Year competition aside, it’s embarrassing that such dedication isn’t adequately rewarded. Neither Davis nor any other public school teacher in Alabama has seen a real pay raise in eight years; a 2 percent pay hike in 2013 came with an increase in benefit costs. Enterprise Ledger – Continuous train wreck leads to inevitable It was bound to happen sooner than later. Thanks to continuous errors in judgment by the Alabama Republican Party, it has now become a national joke (see HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver). Gov. Robert Bentley’s inappropriate behavior has led to talks of possible impeachment proceedings, which must be presented by the Speaker of the House, who is none other than the same guy, Mike Hubbard, who is facing 23 felony counts and has destroyed careers of some (among those are former Representative Greg Wren) with ties to him and almost did likewise to others, including this area’s Representative, Barry Moore. If an impeachment trial begins it will be presided over, as Oliver notes, by Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was once removed from office for ethics violations. Moore is the cleanest of this trio, which shows just how bad things are in Alabama politics at the moment. And Oliver didn’t even touch on the fact that Attorney General Luther Strange’s office
