Issue Position: Taxes

Issue Position

Issue Position: Taxes

Taxes
I have long supported tax relief for families and small businesses in South Dakota. Tax relief accomplishes two important goals: it puts more money in the pockets of South Dakotans, and it grows the economy, which is why I have consistently supported legislation that makes our tax code simpler, fairer, and allows taxpayers to keep more of their hard earned money. In 2001 and 2003, Congress acted to reduce the marginal tax rates for families and small businesses, increase the child tax credit, and repeal the unfair death tax. However, this important tax relief is set to expire at the end of 2010.

During debate of the Fiscal Year 2010 budget and the stimulus bill, I offered and supported a number of amendments to reduce the tax burden on families and individuals. These include amendments to extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, retain the full charitable tax deduction, prevent "cap-and-trade" legislation from increasing consumers' energy prices, redirect wasteful government spending towards tax relief, and provide tax rebates to boost the economy.

Unfortunately, a similar commitment to tax relief does not seem to be shared by Democrat leaders and the Obama Administration who have proposed increasing taxes on everything from soda pop to small businesses. Furthermore, under proposed cap-and-trade legislation nearly every aspect of our economy which uses energy would face tax increases. This could result in up to a 50 percent increase in energy prices for South Dakota consumers and businesses. Instead, I believe our tax policy should allow all Americans to keep more of their hard earned dollars as well as encourage individuals to plan, save, and invest for retirement and I will continue to fight to provide meaningful tax relief, prevent tax hikes, and put our economy on sound footing.

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