FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 7, 2008
- No New Taxes
- Incentives for Small Business Investment in New Jobs and Equipment
- Make Bush Tax Cuts Permanent
- Cut Corporate Tax Rate
- Repeal Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)
- Permanently Eliminate the Death Tax
11th Congressional District GOP nominee Marty Ozinga Wednesday unveiled his plans to help spur the economy once elected. A creator of roughly 1000 Illinois jobs, Ozinga said his experience gives him first-hand knowledge of the impact of government policies on job creation.
“Politicians often talk about creating jobs, but few have actually done it,” Ozinga said. “Because of that, they don’t know how dangerous the wrong economic policy can be for a company, a community, and a region.
“My economic policy is borrowed from the medical community: First, do no harm. We have to end Congress’s endless appetite for tax hikes and regulation, and allow entrepreneurs do to what they do best, and that is create jobs.”
Ozinga said the series of tax hikes passed by Congress in the last 16 months will undoubtedly lead to less job creation for a variety of reasons: They take money normally circulating in the economy out of the economy; and they will adversely affect small businesses. Many small business owners file taxes as individuals, which means raising the individual income tax for these taxpayers amounts to a new business tax. Small businesses account for three out of four of the new jobs created in the U.S.
“Ozinga Bros. started as a small business,” Ozinga said. “If we want more success stories of small businesses taking the next step and growing and creating more jobs, we have to send people to Washington who believe people should keep more of their own money instead of sending it to the IRS.
“I propose extending benefits for small businesses, including increased expensing incentives to create new jobs and purchase new equipment. These small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and strengthening this sector encourages the best aspects of American ingenuity and entrepreneurship.”
Ozinga explained he would make the tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 permanent. Raising them now as the economy appears headed for recession would be disastrous, he said.
“As a result of these tax cuts, millions of low-income Americans stopped paying taxes altogether,” Ozinga said. “These cuts helped everyone, not just the rich. And it is Economics 101 that you don’t take money out of the economy in the form of tax hikes during a recession.”
Ozinga said lowering the U.S. corporate tax rate would help spur job growth as well, noting that we currently have the second-highest rate (35 percent) in the world.
“Other countries that have lowered their rates – Ireland in particular – are experiencing booming economic growth,” said Ozinga. “If we’re worried about keeping jobs in America and strengthening our own companies, lowering the corporate tax rate is a good place to start.”
Ozinga said the Alternative Minimum Tax (a tax that hits the middle class the hardest) and the Death Tax (which limits the ability of family farmers and small businesspeople to pass their assets down to the next generation) need to be permanently repealed.
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