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Congressman Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) released the following statement regarding Tax Freedom Day:

“For years, leaders in Washington from both parties have been kicking the can down the road delaying important decisions affecting our nation’s financial condition, energy security and regulatory burden,” said Congressman Posey. “Years of irresponsible stewardship have resulted in prolonged high unemployment, high gas prices, trillion dollar deficits and a whopping $15.5 trillion national debt.

“One ill-advised proposal is to raise taxes. But the truth is, to generate the kind of revenue the government needs to close an annual trillion dollar-plus deficit, we need to add more taxpayers to the rolls. That means we need policies designed to make America a more competitive and less costly place to do business, create jobs and raise families.

“Washington should simplify the 3.8 million word tax code and begin to cut back on major new regulations. According to the National Taxpayer’s Union (NTU), in 2009 corporations spent $159.4 billion on tax code compliance. That’s equal to 54 percent of all corporate income taxes collected in the previous year. NTU also noted that the businesses and taxpayers together spent a total of $227.1 billion to comply with the tax code.

“Furthermore, every year federal agencies impose more than 4,000 new regulations with more than 200 of these new rules having a significant cost on the economy. The U.S. Small Business Administration issued a study in September of 2010 placing the annual regulatory compliance cost for small businesses at as high as $10,000 per employee. The twelve foot stack of new and proposed regulations in my office represents one year’s worth of job-killing federal rule making.

“This needs to change if we are going to get our economy back on track and create jobs. Both Congress and the President need to seriously consider the burden that big government places on families, businesses and the next generation of Americans.”