Institute a flat income tax with three key deductions for individual and family filing status, charitable giving and homeowners.
A flatter, and fairer tax structure would simplify the tax code and keep taxes low while offering equal tax treatment for families with equal incomes.
According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, 51% of Americans owed no federal income tax in 2009. This creates a lack of personal accountability to the spending and debt decisions made by Washington politicians. A flat tax would simultaneously encourage economic growth, without sacrificing distributional equity.
"Champion tax reform. We should dramatically simplify the tax code and move as close as possible to a flat tax or to the Fair Tax."
No plan released to date.
Cut capital gains tax rate to 15% and index it to inflation to keep it from distorting the real, after inflation gain which results in potential decisions counter to growing a strong, vibrant economy. Cutting the rate and indexing to account for inflation will increase investment, increase returns, increase productivity and create jobs.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Abolish death and gift tax as double and triple taxation is simply wrong and un-American. The effects of the death tax on a family business can be extreme when a family must forfeit large amounts of capital to pay a tax as the business is passed to the next generation. Many businesses and farms can’t survive as they are often asset heavy and cash poor. The former director of the Congressional Budget Office reports that permanent repeal of the death tax will create 1.5 million small business jobs in the United States.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Repeal limits on all Tax-Deferred Saving Plans (Including 401(k)s, IRAs, 529 college saving plans, and HSAs).
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Make all withdrawals from IRAs penalty free for two years or while the national unemployment, as defined by the Department of Labor, is 6.5%, for those collecting unemployment.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Institute a flat business tax rate of 19% and ending deductions, credits, exemptions, and loopholes that have allowed politically favored corporations to avoid paying the taxes they owe. By establishing one tax rate for all businesses there would no longer be separate tax rules for partnerships, sole proprietorships, S corporations and regular corporations. According to The Heritage Foundation, by lowering the corporate tax rate, the U.S. could begin adding over half a million private sector jobs each year, expand GDP by over $130 billion per year, and increase a typical family of four’s after-tax income by nearly $2,500 per year.
"Slash corporate tax rates. We should cut corporate tax rates to 15 percent immediately to spur new investment and create new jobs in America."
No plan released to date.
Strengthen the CRA by requiring Congress to vote on regulations with a cost to businesses of $50 million or greater; Enhance the Small Business Regulatory and Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) to force government agencies to evaluate the burden they place on small businesses.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Eliminate the Dodd-Frank regulatory requirements that hinder small and community banks. The most harmful regulations to community banks are those involving consumer lending and capital requirements. Given the smaller asset base, those banks will have a very difficult time mitigating the costs of the new requirements and remaining competitive, and they should be repealed.
"Repeal Dodd-Frank. The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act does nothing to prevent future financial bailouts, but instead subjects the financial sector to crushing regulatory burdens – the cost of which invariably will be passed on to consumers."
No plan released to date.
Repeal section 404, which places an unnecessary burden on start-ups and small businesses, forcing them to slow their timetable for initial public offering, as well as giving companies little choice but to merge or return to private ownership, due to the burdensome annual compliance tax.
"Allow small- and medium-sized companies to opt out of Sarbanes-Oxley. Today, American businesses spend twice as much complying with needlessly burdensome regulations as they spend on income taxes. We should restore a historic pillar of America’s prosperity: access to affordable public capital to expand business and create jobs."
No plan released to date.
Pass stalled, already negotiated agreements with Panama, Columbia, and South Korea that are being held hostage by President Obama to placate his union supporters. The International Trade Commission says these long- pending trade agreements will lead to the creation of 250,000 jobs here in the U.S. The agreements with Columbia and South Korea would Texas exporters a $181 million cost and $50 million advantage over similar products exported by competitors who do not have an FTA with those countries.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Codify a national Landowner Bill of Rights to protect citizens from government's attempt to seize property.
Also, Landowners should have the right to file a meaningful protest before a federal court rather than simply be at the mercy of a judgment by an agency.
A law should be passed requiring the federal government to compensate landowners if their land is devalued by more than 25% as a result of the Endangered Species Act.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Revoke every Executive Order, starting with Obama's E.O. 13575, creating the White House Rural Council which exports American independence and gives an international entity control over U.S citizens.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Support tort reform in federal court system to limit punitive damages, eliminate venue shopping, remove abusive legislation, and end attempts to regulate through litigation. The growth of tort costs has exceeded the growth in GDP by 2-3% over the past 50 years. This is important during an economic downturn when abusive litigation and attempts to regulate litigation result in such high costs and liability that our economic recovery is diminished or even reversed.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Pass the National Right to Work Act. Workers would be free to choose union representation voluntarily. No worker would be forced to accept unwanted union “representation." The National Right to Work Act would not add a single word to federal law.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Repeal Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) to reduce the costs of federal construction projects. The DBA requires the government to pay construction wages that average 22% above market rates. Repealing the DBA would also remove barriers to competition for minority contractors and small businesses, and remove the unfair advantage given to unions.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Stop them by giving Congress more oversight to strip funding if they continue to put American jobs at risk. Pass legislation similar to Job Protection Act, to protect states right-to-work laws and keep the NLRB from telling a company where they can do business in America. Congress must also set limits to keep the NLRB from circumventing Congressional oversight, by making administrative changes.
"Stop the National Labor Relations Board from attacking jobs in right-to-work states."
No plan released to date.
Stop check-card legislation, and ensure workers' right to secret ballot elections. The Heritage Foundation estimates that if Congress passed card-check, the expanded unionization would reduce employment opportunities by 765,000 potential jobs in the economy within two years.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Stop the Obama offshore drilling moratorium, and expand American energy opportunities not only with offshore drilling but also natural gas as well as onshore drilling. The Obama Administration admits 12,000 jobs have been lost as a result of their drilling moratorium, and some experts believe, by 2015, job losses could reach 125,000 per year.
"Revoke the offshore drilling moratorium."
No plan released to date.
Increase access to on-shore sources of oil and natural gas by drilling, which will boost local economies and help reduce U.S. dependence on foreign energy sources. Onshore, we have UTRR of 38 Bbo and 756 Tcf, with a significant portion on federal lands. Congress should vote to allow production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), where billions of barrels of oil can be extracted without disrupting wildlife.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Stop cap and trade while exploring more energy options like offshore and onshore drilling for oil and natural gas to help alleviate America's high energy costs. The Waxman- Markey cap-and-trade bill that Democrats rammed through the House in 2009 would cost Texas 94,041 jobs by 2035 according to the Heritage Foundation.
"Kill cap and trade..."
No plan released to date.
Congress must stop the EPA and White House from threatening to increase regulations and taxes on domestic energy. Stop the EPA from overstepping authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, which will only increase energy costs. It's time to pursue common sense development and exploration of energy, including oil, natural gas, solar, wind, and geothermal."
"Restrain abusive environmental enforcement...We can and should vigilantly protect clean air and water while aggressively developing these new resources and new jobs."
No plan released to date.
We need to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution, which must include a spending cap of 18% of GDP. This will stop the federal government from spending more than it takes in. Additionally, this amendment should not only require that Congress pass a balanced budget, but if they fail to pass one in time, pay for all Members of Congress should be returned to taxpayers.
"Pass a strong, balanced budget amendment. In 2013, with a new Senate and a new president in the White House, passing a strong balanced budget amendment with strict spending limitations (18 percent of GDP) is absolutely vital."
No plan released to date.
Limit spending to 18% of GDP, which is the average revenue taken in by the federal government from 1960-2009. Any attempt to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment must incorporate a clause limiting spending. If it does not, we are leaving the door wide open to an endless string of tax hikes to fund continued reckless spending.
"In 2013, with a new Senate and a new president in the White House, passing a strong balanced budget amendment with strict spending limitations (18 percent of GDP) is absolutely vital."
No plan released to date.
Eliminate the current earmark practice and create a new, more fiscally responsible system for approving and funding federal projects. We need a process that is open and transparent to restore public trust. We also must ensure a project receives funding on merit alone and only if it is a priority worthy of taxpayer money. Congress must offer full transparency as it weighs the costs and benefits of expenditures.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Institute zero-based budgeting which will force government departments to justify all expenditures, eliminating waste in the process. Newly proposed programs should be required to identify basic objectives and metrics for evaluation at the time they are enacted. Proposers will need to specifically identify the benefits and this will provide a measuring stick to evaluate those programs over time. All new government programs should be designed to expire after a short term, and require them to identify basic objectives and metrics for existence.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Institute biennial budgeting, an idea that has been endorsed by each successive president since Ronald Reagan, as well as numerous federal budget experts.. The first year will allow for the appropriation of federal dollars, while the second year would be to scrutinize programs and determine if they deserve continual funding. Biennial budgeting would force Congress to become better stewards of the taxpayers’ money, thereby reducing reckless and wasteful spending.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Audit defense spending to make sure every dollar is being used efficiently and effectively, while maintaining a strong and capable military. We must to work with our military leaders to clearly define their needs rather than have Congress think up programs to boost spending in districts back home.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
End off-budget expenditures. Liabilities and obligations should be included in budget, like required for businesses. Doing so, shows the total U.S. debt actually exceeds 400% of GDP, which is somewhere in the range of $61.6 trillion. That adds up to a debt of over $500,000 for every American household. Congress needs to start using some basic business sense and honestly tell the American people what they owe.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
I have pledged to serve no more than two terms and I support a constitutional amendment for term limits for two terms in Senate, and three terms in the House. This will get the career politicians out of Washington and send fresh faces ready to tackle our greatest challenges.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Salaries and benefits for members of Congress, Senior congressional staff, and executive branch employees should be indexed to midpoint salary and benefits of the private sector. Additionally, members of Congress should be forced to return their salaries if they fail to pass a balanced budget. Political leaders should feel the up and downs that average Americans do, and understand that their decisions in Washington have consequences.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Members of Congress should be barred from directly lobbying on Capitol Hill for ten years. We must end the revolving door of members using their influence and connections to benefit themselves and their friends.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Reduce the current government payroll through attrition, while also cutting new hiring. The federal workforce has ballooned out of control under the Obama Administration with over 2 million civilians receiving their paychecks from taxpayers. We should be focusing on creating jobs in the private sector, not new government jobs.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Index salary & benefits to equal jobs in private sector. In 2009, the average total compensation for federal employees was $123,049 with $81,258 in salary and $41,791 in benefits. Average total compensation for private workers is more than 50% less, sitting at $61,051 with $50,462 in pay and $10,589 in benefits. This is wasteful and needs to change. Those that have been promised defined retirement benefits desire to receive them, but in the long-run we must scale-down government retirement programs, including the Thrift Saving Plan and the Federal Employees Retirement System.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Repeal Obamacare and replace it with a private-sector oriented system with seven core tenants:- Encourage and reward preventative care, instead of dealing with problems as they arise.
- More individual control in the decision making processes, by expanding the use of Health Savings Accounts.
- More competition through the creation of co-ops and the ability to buy and sell insurance across state lines.
- Pass meaningful lawsuit reform to reduce frivolous lawsuits, reduce costs, and still protect consumers.
- Revise the reimbursement system to focus on the outcomes rather than the amount of procedures.
- Refocus "safety net" provisions on catastrophic coverage rather than "first dollar out" coverage.
- Eliminate special coverage mandates by the government.
"Repeal Obamacare. The massive cost and uncertainty it has imposed on small business is crippling job creation."
No plan released to date.
Five specific steps to save Social Security. The first four put it on a path to solvency, the fifth step saves it for future generations.- Raise the retirement age. When Social Security was created in 1935, life expectancy was 64 years and the earliest retirement age was 65. Today, Americans on average live 14 years longer, retire 3 years earlier and spend 20 years in retirement.
- Incentivize later retirement. For example, if an individual works for five years past the NRA, we should exempt them from paying taxes on their social security income for five years.
- Encourage private retirement savings. 401(k)s, IRAs and other plans should have no limits placed on them, and workers should be able to contribute as much to these as they need to in order to save for retirement.
- Recalculate Cost of Living Adjustment. An easy cost savings to the program would be to base the COLA on the Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U). This according to the CBO would save $217 billion over 10 years.
- Save Social Security with Personal Retirement Accounts. This would be voluntary and would set aside a portion of payroll taxes for each participant. PRAs would be gradually introduced, allowing younger workers to maintain more control over their retirement savings. Yearly contribution limits would be raised over time, eventually permitting all workers to set aside 4% of their payroll taxes in their accounts.
"We need...fundamental entitlement reform to resolve the ever-growing debt crisis."
No plan released to date.
Move to a premium support model, similar to the system provided to Members of Congress. This would give seniors greater choice and independence, and subsidies would be provided by Medicare. This would be gradually phased-in over time and would not affect anyone currently over the age of 55. Those with the lowest incomes would receive more funds from vouchers and would be eligible for additional Medicaid coverage.
"We need...fundamental entitlement reform to resolve the ever-growing debt crisis."
No plan released to date.
Implement Block Grant System for states which would offer new options to patients and allow for greater access to the care they need while reducing costs. Without reform, states are incentivized to add more recipients to the Medicaid rolls by lowering requirements for so they can receive more federal money. This led us to three Medicaid bailouts over the past decade. The Block Grant System would address this problem.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Rein in the Federal Reserve. It is out of control. Unelected officials within the Fed have dramatically increased the size and scope of government in the last few years with bailouts and loans, not just to U.S. corporations, but to foreign entities, as well. This is in part due to the Fed's dual mandate of full employment and dollar stability. The employment mandate must end. The Fed should also be consistently audited by Congress with reports made available to the American people. However, any reform to the auditing system must ensure that the independence of the Federal Reserve is not compromised. Lastly, the Fed must end its practice of "quantitative easing," which is to print money we don't have.
"Congress should pass Rep. Ron Paul's bill to audit the Federal Reserve — so that it is subject to basic principles of accountability and transparency. We then should restrain the Fed’s “quantitative easing” — a fancy term for printing money — so that our currency isn’t further debased. For long-term growth, we need sound money and a strong dollar."
No plan released to date.
Institute sunset laws. Review each agency with the exception of earned benefits for veterans and programs like Social Security and Medicare. While creating a commission, similar the Sunset Advisory Commission in Texas, to monitor and determine if government agencies are necessary. One recent GAO report estimates this could save taxpayers billions of dollars every year.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Contrary to the intent of the Founding Fathers, there is a lack of transparency in the legislative process. Bills must have singular purpose, including a maximum 400 word summary, describing the focus, intent, Constitutional Authority, and the cost associated with the bill. Bills should also be online 72 hours before coming to a vote. We should also increase the transparency of the legislative system by strengthening the disclosure requirements for congressional members, staff and candidates.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The CBO says the real cost of the federal government guaranteeing the business of the failed mortgage giants $317 billion – not the $130 billion claimed by the Obama administration. That number keeps rising as the housing market remains stagnant because the government guarantees all their debt. The government has no business in the mortgage lending industry. Privatizing them removes the burden off of taxpayers.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
President Obama’s Stimulus bill disassembled the mechanism within The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 that reduced welfare payrolls. The result has been an explosion in welfare-related costs, with total welfare-related outlays increasing roughly 70%. To fix this, we must eliminate all "such sums" language to remove additional unfunded future liabilities. We must also reverse perverse incentives which tie funding to an incremental increase of each new cases that a state signs up for.
No mention in Cruz's agenda.
No plan released to date.
Paid for by Texans for Tom Leppert
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