Taxes & Fiscal Responsibility
What I Believe
Taxes should be clear, fair, and focused on serving people, not corporation.
The Problem: Corporate Tax Loopholes and Unmonitored Spending
The current complex and loophole-ridden federal tax code allows large, politically powerful companies and the wealthiest individuals to exploit legal avenues to pay little or nothing in federal taxes. Simultaneously, Congress often approves vast federal spending without rigorous, periodic accountability, creating “sacred cow” programs that are ineffective, unmonitored, and drain public resources.
What I'll Do - The Fiscal Accountability and Simplicity Act - FASA
- Mandatory Corporate Minimum Tax: Enact a robust domestic minimum tax of 21% on all corporate profits above a defined threshold. This must be a true minimum and eliminate specific loopholes that allow multinational corporations to shift profits overseas to avoid U.S. taxation, ensuring every profitable large company pays its fair share.
- Simplify the Code for Working Families (File-by-Simple): Direct the IRS to create a “File-by-Simple” system. For the majority of working Americans whose income consists primarily of W-2 and 1099 income, the IRS will automatically calculate taxes based on existing data and send an optional, pre-filled return for review and acceptance. This simplifies the process, saves time, and reduces reliance on expensive tax preparers.
- Mandate Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB): Institute a comprehensive, cycle-based Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB) review for all non-essential federal agencies and programs every four years. Under ZBB, every dollar of funding must be justified from a base of zero, eliminating automatic funding increases and forcing programs to prove efficacy or be defunded and eliminated, ensuring maximal efficiency.
- National Debt Stabilization and Oversight: Establish an independent, non-partisan Congressional Debt Commission tasked with creating a mandatory, automated system for debt stabilization. This system will be required to propose and enforce necessary fiscal adjustments—spending cuts, revenue generation, or a combination—when the national debt-to-GDP ratio exceeds a predetermined safety threshold, excluding periods of recession or declared war.
Why It Matters
When billionaires and mega-corporations exploit loopholes to pay zero taxes, the burden falls directly onto working families. We must simplify the tax code to make it fair, ensure every profitable company pays its share, and use Zero-Based Budgeting to end wasteful, unmonitored government spending.