Taxes (See Corporate Taxes for Corporations)

Everyone wants the benefits of paying taxes without paying them. The bottom line is this: If you want a better life, you must pay your taxes! I believe in a proportional tax system with exemptions for low-income families and qualifying credits for those who qualify.

In case you didn't know, America was founded on a tax revolt! That's right. Colonists, led by Thomas Jefferson penned a letter to the King of England which became the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, describing the reason for the revolt: “imposing taxes without consent.” Fast forward nearly 250 years and here the government lies imposing its own taxes on its own citizens without their consent. Imagine that. Benjamin Franklin is known for his quote: “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain except for death and taxes.”

Now, Americans are paying a lot of taxes: income tax, payroll tax (local, state and federal), taxes on vehicles, property tax, sales tax, estate tax (on death), excise tax, travel tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, and the list goes on.

With each new presidency, taxes seem to evolve into a more complex system and network making it almost impossible for the average American to understand. Some will argue we need to work towards simplicity. I say, it’s too late for that. We’ve come a long way from simplicity, since 1776. We have social welfare programs now that people are dependent on, NASA, national defense, and many other things we must continue to fund with taxes. Therefore, a better focus is to make sure that the code doesn't become any more complicated. 

As a future U.S. Senator, I promise to support broadened tax brackets with lowered individual income tax rates. Additionally, I agree to support the following: 

• Doubling the standard deduction and personal exemptions:

  • For example, in 2017, a family of four making less than $314,000 a year got $16,200 in personal exemptions, combined with the $13,000 standard deduction in joint returns. That makes for a total of $29,200 deducted from that family’s taxable income. With the elimination of the personal exemption and the increase in the standard deduction, that same family would only get a $24,000 break in 2018. That’s a difference of $5,000, and the gap will widen for families larger than four people.

• Holding the internal revenue service more accountable for waste and negligence and making sure they have the tools and resources to hold individuals and corporations accountable. 

• Any increase in the child tax credit for parents with dependent children; any increase in credit for individuals caring for dependent adults 

• Eliminating unnecessary federal government waste and spending (ex. Unused plane tickets, useless studies and research programs, maintaining abandoned buildings) which may create a budget surplus which can then be distributed back to Americans in the form of reduced taxes and/or as economic stimulus payments