By Jessica Domel
Multimedia Reporter

More jobs. Fairer taxes. Bigger paychecks. All three are goals of the U.S. House and Senate Republican’s plans, unveiled Wednesday, to overhaul the American tax code.

Now is the time for reform, House Speaker Paul Ryan said, as the current code is too big, complicated and expensive.

“Instead of a source of pride, our tax code has become a constant source of frustration,” Ryan (R-WI) said. “It’s too big. It’s too complicated. It’s too expensive. Today, we are taking the next step to liberate Americans from our broken tax code.”

The unified framework, Ryan said, is simple, fair and is pro-growth and pro-family.

“It simplifies the tax code, so you can file your taxes on a form the size of a postcard,” Ryan said.

The plan calls for a repeal of the death tax and alternative minimum tax. It creates a lower tax rate and structure for small business at 25 percent.

“This is vital to America’s future,” Ryan said. “It is urgent. We want the American people to wake up in the New Year with a new system.”

It also shrinks the current seven tax brackets into three—at 12, 25 and 35 percent, according to the GOP, with potential for an additional top rate for the highest income tax payers.

“Americans have been waiting for years. They’ve been waiting too long for Washington to fix our broken tax code,” House Ways and Means Committee Chair Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said. “They’ve been waiting too long for better jobs, for more take home pay and a stronger economy.”

The House Ways and Means Committee is ready to turn the newly released framework into legislation, Brady remarked.

“This is our year to chart a new course,” Brady said.

The framework includes plans to double the standard deduction and enhance the Child Tax Credit.

According to the GOP, the framework also eliminates loopholes for the wealthy by simplifying the tax code and eliminating any itemized deductions they say are primarily used by the wealthy.

Tax incentives for home mortgage interest, charitable contributions, work, higher education and retirement security will all likely remain.

The framework calls for a reduction in the corporate tax rate to 20 percent. It also allows, for at least five years, businesses to write-off the cost of new investments.

It ends incentives for offshore jobs and imposes a one-time, low tax rate on wealth already accumulated overseas, according to the GOP.

The tax plan was released Sept. 27, which marked the anniversary of the 1986 vote that passed the last overhaul of the U.S. tax code.

After the announcement, American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said the framework is an important step toward a fair and equitable tax system that encourages success, savings, investment and entrepreneurship.

“Comprehensive tax reform is essential to addressing the financial challenges faced by America’s farmers and ranchers,” Duvall said. “Farm Bureau is encouraged to see that this framework includes important principles, such as lower tax rates for individuals who own businesses, elimination of the death tax and some business interest deductibility.”

Duvall said Farm Bureau looks forward to working with tax writers to refine the proposal to ensure that tax reform lowers effective tax rates for farm and ranch businesses.

“Farmers and ranchers need permanent tax provisions like the continuation of cash accounting and like-kind exchanges, unlimited stepped-up basis and lower capital gains taxes,” Duvall said. “Agriculture is a high-risk, high-input, capital-intensive business, and these provisions are essential to success. We look forward to working with Congress to assure that these meaningful reforms are included in any comprehensive tax package.”

To hear more on tax reform on the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Radio Network click here.