U.S. Rep Dennis Ross, Tax Code, Medicare All Are Complex, Confusing


U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross [R-Lakeland] wrote an op-ed column about the complex tax code and how the taxpayer can't afford another Washington bailout ["A Simpler, Flatter, Fairer Tax Code," April 15]. Maybe he hasn't figured out that Congress is to blame for the 74,000-page tax code.

He seems to realize that we are tired of having to pay our hard-earned money in taxes, but I submit we would each have to pay less in taxes if Mr. Ross would clamp down on the one in four corporations that pay no tax.

Maybe he could stop the banks, the ones that got literally trillions of dollars from Congress, from keeping their profitable loans but sticking the taxpayers if they crater.

Instead, he now proposes reducing corporate rates further — a number that if my math holds, will mean we would owe some multinationals a refund on taxes they never paid.

If Mr. Ross were indeed interested in being fairer, wouldn't he also be in favor of making those who owe taxes, such as on the $34 trillion kept offshore, actually pay them? Wrong.

Even after showing a 4-to-1 to 5-to-1 return on dollars spent by the IRS to clamp down on cheating, Mr. Ross and most of the Republicans in the House voted to deny the requested funding. In fact, he has said he wants to eliminate the IRS all together.

I'm not sure Mr. Ross has my back. Fairer for whom? He has already voted to default on government debt, causing America's credit rating to be downgraded.

He also voted for a plan that would voucherize Medicare for those younger than 54, a move that would force expectant retirees to scrimp on health-care protection just at a time when they need it most. If Mr. Ross thinks the tax code is complex, try comparing health-care policies when you're 85.




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