Tax Reform Plan by Sen. Mike Lee: The Family and the Pursuit of Happiness

If you missed the AEI event on Sept. 17, 1–2:30 pm, featuring Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), then here it is in recap. Senator Mike Lee presented a new tax reform plan that seeks to restore middle class opportunity and promote the upward mobility of working class families.

In addition to lowering rates and eliminating loopholes, Senator Lee’s plan provides parents with relief from the unfair tax treatment they receive for their investment in their children, which is an interesting concept many parents do not even consider. Senator Lee’s remarks were followed by a question-and-answer period and a panel discussion in which experts with varying views reviewed the plan’s policy implications.

Highlight Clip Of Senator Mike Lee

Event Summary From AEI:

According to Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), US parents are burdened with a double penalty: they are not only responsible for paying their own taxes, but they must also bear the economic costs of raising children whose taxes will pay for future government benefits.  Recognizing Constitution Day at an AEI event on Tuesday, Sen. Lee unveiled a far-reaching plan to reform the US tax system by making the income-tax system simpler and more efficient. Among other reforms, he advocated a new $2,500 child tax credit to supplement the current child tax credit, to relieve the double penalty on parents, and to bring equality of opportunity to the social and economic institution of the family.

The panelists had mixed opinions of the child tax issue. W. Bradford Wilcox of AEI and Ramesh Ponnuru of AEI and National Review approached Sen. Lee’s child tax credit from social and political perspectives, applauding the senator’s effort to bring considerations of community and family back to the growth-centric Republican platform.

Elaine Maag of the Urban Institute and Alex Brill of AEI, however, were less favorable toward the idea. While Maag praised Sen. Lee’s desire to support families, she expressed a preference for policies that take into account the interaction between work and child rearing and those that target lower-income parents. Brill focused on the budgetary effects of the plan, expressing his fear of potential revenue loss. Overall, panelists commended Sen. Lee’s effort to reform a complicated income-tax system and his consideration of the family in the process.
–Regan Kuchan

Some highlight clips from Sen. Lee’s speech: 

Defining the Republican Party

Keeping America exceptional.