Dear Friends,
In last week's newsletter I talked extensively about Speaker Paul Ryan's "A Better Way" agenda, and a major part of this plan is the work we are doing on tax reform. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to host a Tax Reform Roundtable at the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce in Little Rock with Arkansas business leaders, tax professionals, and other stakeholders to discuss House Republicans’ plan for reforming the current tax code.
Our tax reform agenda outlines a simpler, fairer tax code, and one that is in stark contrast to the burdensome and costly tax code that exists today.
The current tax code is a never-ending mess that has nearly tripled in size over the past 30 years. Americans spend over $400 billion and almost $9 billion in man hours each year in order to comply with the tax code.
Those in attendance yesterday discussed the burdensome nature of the current code, along with the need to reduce the number of tax brackets, simplify the filing process, and lower the corporate tax rate. The United States has the highest corporate tax rate in the developed world at 35 percent, a number that has contributed to a reduction in large global companies being headquartered in our country.
We need to remain on a level playing field with the rest of the world, and we can’t do that until we create an environment where businesses of all sizes can grow.
The House’s plan would reduce the corporate tax rate to 20 percent, making America a more attractive home for companies and creating a positive impact at all levels of our economy.
I called for the roundtable to hear from local businesses on the effect of tax reform on their operations. I was pleased by the reaction to the “Better Way” agenda from those in attendance. Having the input of those who truly are economic drivers in our community is invaluable to me as I continue my work in Congress to grow Arkansas’s economy.
Sincerely,
Representative French Hill |
Photos for the Week
Rep. Hill discussing "A Better Way" during a speech at the Rotary Club in Searcy. |
Rep. Hill meeting with local law enforcement at the Veterans Memorial in McRae. |
News for the Week
Funds extended for startup aid
Arkansas Online
Arkansas and financial-technology company FIS have agreed to give $1 million apiece to aid in funding the FinTech Accelerator program in 2017 and 2018, Gov. Asa Hutchinson and company CEO Gary Norcross said Wednesday. It's good for the state to explore partnerships with the private sector, U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., said in a phone interview. Little Rock always has bragged about having an economy that doesn't boom or bust, said Hill, the former chairman and chief executive officer of Delta Trust & Bank, which was sold to Simmons First National Corp. in 2014. "I think for the future we need to have a more dynamic economy," Hill said. "We need to take more chances and have faster job growth."
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Hill talk at club touches on taxes
Arkansas Online
he United States should secure its borders through high-tech security, give business a boost by reducing regulations and adopt the tax-overhaul plan proposed by the U.S. House, U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., said Tuesday. Hill spoke to the Searcy Rotary Club, which met at the Searcy Country Club. About 50 people attended. At several points in his speech and during a question-and-answer section, Hill differentiated himself from this year's presidential nominees -- fellow Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton.
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We Need Answers
Last week, Rep. Hill sent a letter to Department of Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Secretary of State John Kerry seeking answers over news reports that the Obama Administration authorized a $400 million cash payment to the Iranian Government in exchange for four American hostages.
In the letter Rep. Hill, a member of the House Financial Services Committee Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation and the Task Force to Investigate Terrorism Financing, wrote:
Since the start of negotiations with Iran on an agreement regarding the future of its nuclear program, I have expressed serious concerns about this agreement’s ability to prohibit Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons capabilities and to ensure the security of the United States and our allies in the Middle East. The final agreement between Iran and the P5+1 countries, as memorialized in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), has only exacerbated these serious concerns, and I believe that the P5+1 countries were out negotiated, particularly in freeing sanctioned funds immediately and granting Iran and her affiliates immediate access to the international banking system and the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT)....
You can read the rest of the letter here.
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VA Construction Woes Bigger Than Just Big Projects
Last week, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released its report on the VA Green Management Program Solar Panel Projects. The report was completed at the request of Senator John Boozman and Rep. Hill following a 2015 news report that the Little Rock VA Medical Center tore down solar panels at the facility that had sat there for two years without ever being turned on.
Following the release of the report, Rep. Hill stated:
"The OIG report does little to instill confidence in VA’s ability to effectively manage construction projects. Whether it is a project as complex as hospital construction or one as simple as the proper installation of solar panels, VA continues to waste large amounts of taxpayer funds as a result of its own ineptitude. Senator Boozman and I asked the OIG to investigate both the Little Rock and similar projects in order to determine the efficacy of the solar projects nationwide. Now we know that it isn’t solely a Little Rock VA problem – that cost taxpayers an additional $1.5 million – but one that has a much larger geographic and fiscal scope than originally believed. We need to increase oversight into all VA construction activities to ensure these types of avoidable failures do not happen in the future.”
Note: Last year, as part of Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2015, President Obama signed into law a provision that would strip the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) of its authority to manage large construction projects.
This was passed as a direct response to the billion dollar cost overruns overseen by VA during construction of the Aurora VA Hospital in Colorado.
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