SRES 24 IS
Mr. LUGAR submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Finance
Whereas the savings level in the United States has steadily declined over the past 25 years, and lagged behind the industrialized trading partners of the United States;
Whereas the economy of the United States cannot achieve strong, sustained growth without adequate levels of savings to fuel productive activity;
Whereas the income tax, the accompanying capital gains tax, and the estate and gift tax discourage savings and investment;
Whereas the methods necessary to enforce the income tax infringe on the privacy of the citizens of the United States and, according to the Tax Foundation, divert an estimated $225,000,000,000 of taxpayer resources to comply with income tax rules and regulations;
Whereas the Internal Revenue Service estimates that each year it fails to collect 17 per centum, or $127,000,000,000, of the income tax owed to the Federal Government;
Whereas the income tax system employs a withholding mechanism that limits the transparency of Federal taxes;
Whereas the most effective tax system is one that promotes savings, fairness, simplicity, privacy, border adjustability, and transparency;
Whereas it is estimated that the replacement of the income tax system with a national sales tax would cause the savings rate of Americans to substantially increase;
Whereas the national sales tax would achieve fairness by employing a single tax rate, taxing the underground economy, and closing loopholes and deductions;
Whereas the national sales tax would achieve simplicity by eliminating recordkeeping for most taxpayers and greatly reducing the number of collection points;
Whereas the national sales tax would be the least intrusive tax system because most taxpayers would not be required to file returns or face audits from the Internal Revenue Service;
Whereas the national sales tax is border adjustable and would place exporting by Americans on a level playing field with the foreign competitors of the United States;
Whereas a national sales tax is a transparent tax system that would raise Americans' awareness of the cost of the Federal Government; and
Whereas a national sales tax would best achieve the goals of an effective tax system: Now, therefore, be it
END