National Debt and Taxation Transparency Act of 2016
This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to provide each individual who has a valid Social Security number, who received a Form W-2 in the previous taxable year, and who has filed a tax return in any previous taxable year (eligible individual) with a taxpayer account statement.
Beginning on October 1, 2017, Treasury must provide the statement to eligible individuals upon request. For individual income tax returns after 2019, Treasury must include the statement in the instructions for the returns.
The taxpayer account statement shall include: (1) a summary of the most recent Financial Report of the U.S. government, including the Statement of Long Term Fiscal Projections; (2) a calculation by Treasury of the eligible individual's share of the total obligations of the federal government; and (3) a 30-year calculation of the proportional increase in the federal income tax rates necessary to entirely finance the current fiscal path of the federal government, assuming there are no changes in current fiscal policy and no budget deficit.
Within five years of enactment of this bill, Treasury must also provide an estimate of the marginal tax rate and the income and payroll tax liability of the individual under the assumptions stated above.
[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6050 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
114th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6050
To provide debt and tax transparency to taxpayers.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 15, 2016
Mr. Huizenga of Michigan introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide debt and tax transparency to taxpayers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Debt and Taxation
Transparency Act of 2016''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) United States taxpayers work on average almost 3 months
of every year to pay for the operations of the Federal
Government.
(2) United States taxpayers spent on average 21 percent of
their total income on Federal taxes in 2015.
(3) In 2015, United States taxpayers spent more on taxes
than on food, clothing, and housing combined.
(4) The Federal Government spent the equivalent of more
than $29,800 per United States household in 2015, adding nearly
$4,200 per household to the Federal deficit.
(5) Each household's share of the national debt, as of
January 2016, exceeds $152,000.
(6) Publicly held debt is 74 percent of the gross domestic
product, a level not seen since World War II.
(7) Mandatory spending is growing at a faster rate than the
economy.
(8) Federal deficits are projected to exceed $1 trillion by
2022.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to bring more transparency to the tax-and-spend habit
of the Federal Government;
(2) to provide for better accountability in the Federal
budget and appropriations process; and
(3) to increase the participation of United States citizens
in their government.
SEC. 3. A TAXPAYER FINANCIAL STATEMENT TO TAXPAYERS.
(a) Statements Initially Provided Upon Request.--During the period
beginning on October 1, 2017, and ending on the first date that
information is made available under subsection (b), the Secretary of
the Treasury (or the Secretary's delegate) shall provide to each
eligible individual, upon the request of such individual, a ``taxpayer
account statement'' for such individual.
(b) Inclusion in Instructions for Income Tax Returns.--In the case
of individual income tax returns for taxable years beginning in
calendar years after 2019, the Secretary of the Treasury (or the
Secretary's delegate) shall include a taxpayer account statement
containing the information required under subsection (c) in the
instructions for such tax returns.
(c) Taxpayer Account Statement.--The taxpayer account statement
referred to in this section shall include--
(1) a summary of the most recent Financial Report of the
United States Government, including the Statement of Long Term
Fiscal Projections;
(2) a calculation by the Secretary of the Treasury of the
eligible individual's share of the total obligations of the
Federal Government, including those incurred in Medicare,
Social Security, other civilian and military retirement benefit
programs, publicly held debt, and any other liabilities and
expenses, as reported by the most recent Financial Report of
the United States Government; and
(3) a 30-year calculation of the proportional increase in
the Federal income tax rates, as established under chapter 1 of
subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, necessary to
entirely finance the current fiscal path of the Federal
Government, assuming no changes in current fiscal policy and
assuming no budget deficit.
(d) Additional Calculation.--Not later than 5 years after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall also provide an
estimate of the marginal tax rate and the income and payroll tax
liability of the individual under the assumptions stated under
subsection (c)(3).
(e) Eligible Individual.--For purposes of this section, the term
``eligible individual'' means an individual who--
(1) has a valid social security number issued by the Social
Security Administration;
(2) received a Form W-2 in the previous taxable year; and
(3) has filed a return of tax in any previous taxable year.
(f) Notice.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall, to the maximum
extent practicable, take such steps as are necessary to assure that
eligible individuals are informed of the availability of the statement
required under subsection (a).
(g) Availability Through Electronic Filing Services.--It is the
sense of the Congress that the Secretary of the Treasury (or the
Secretary's delegate) should partner with electronic tax filing
services to make the taxpayer account statement available when an
eligible individual elects to file their taxes online.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
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