NAM Poll Shows Americans Want a Simpler and Fairer Tax Code
The National Association of Manufacturers is a leader in the tax reform effort to create a national tax climate that promotes manufacturing in America and enhances the global competitiveness of manufacturers in the United States. Manufacturers are calling on lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to work together on tax reform.
The NAM recently drew attention to the significance of tax reform to Americans with new poll findings that show likely voters want policymakers to work together to enact a simpler, fairer tax code. The poll shows American taxpayers are taking a big-picture look at tax reform, offering strong support for pro-growth policies, even if their personal tax burden is unaffected.
Key findings of the NAM poll include the following:
- Nearly 73 percent of those polled support comprehensive reform to make the tax code simpler and fairer, even if their personal tax burden remains the same.
- An overwhelming majority—85 percent—believe it is important that Congress and the President put aside partisanship to enact comprehensive tax reform.
“Among the American people, tax reform bridges the partisan divide—and voters want Congress and the Administration to move beyond the gridlock to fix our broken, uncompetitive tax code,” said NAM Vice President of Tax and Domestic Economic Policy Dorothy Coleman.
Coleman discussed how tax reform is a key decision point for voters in the NAM’s A Manufacturing Minute video. The Business Journals and Politico Morning Energy (subscription required) featured news coverage of the survey.
While House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp’s (R-MI) impending retirement casts some doubt on the future of his signature tax reform proposal unveiled in February, tax reform is far from dead. Indeed, since Chairman Camp’s discussion draft is the most detailed tax overhaul plan coming out of Washington in a long time, there is a good chance that many of the provisions in the Tax Reform Act of 2014 will form the basis of a tax reform plan in the future.
At the same time, tax reform continues to be a major issue for businesses. In a recent NAM/IndustryWeek survey, two-thirds of respondents said that tax reform should be a top priority for policymakers. Clearly, there are a number of reasons why tax reform will not go away, including the current complexity of the U.S. tax system, the fact that the United States has the highest tax rate among other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations, the uncompetitive U.S. international tax system and the increasing number of temporary “extenders” in the code.
The NAM has formed an ad hoc tax reform working group to take a closer look at Chairman Camp’s proposal, with the goal of submitting comments on the draft later this year. For further information or to join the ad hoc working group, please contact Coleman below.
To learn more about the new NAM poll findings, click here.
