Scott DesJarlais Quotes

I don't think we should reduce the corporate tax rate.

The corporate income tax, in particular, is a tax that puts American corporations at a disadvantage.

High tax rates distort economic decision making, and our corporate income tax rate is one of the highest in the world.

Very high taxes on the very rich—that was invented in the United States.

I have long argued that in the modern world, corporation tax has had its day as a major source of tax revenue.

For decades, American companies, large and small, have been competing with one hand tied behind their backs thanks to our unfair, outdated tax code.

Corporate tax reform is nice in theory but tough in practice. It most likely requires lower tax rates and the closing of loopholes, which many companies are sure to fight. And whatever new, lower tax rate is determined, there will probably be another country willing to lower its rate further, creating a sad race to zero.

Whoever is for higher taxes, feel free to pay higher taxes.

I do think there is room at the very top for marginal tax changes.

It seems difficult to understand that high rates of taxation do not necessarily mean high revenue for the government, and that more revenue may often be obtained with lower tax rates.

Scratch any Republican today and all you will hear is “Tax Cuts, Tax Cuts, Tax Cuts.” Its pure demagoguery…. We have demonized taxes.

If every country tries to race towards the lowest [tax] rate, then in the end nobody gains. If you believe there should be no government at all, then fine. But if you believe some government is good, then you cannot have a system that erodes the tax base in all major countries.

A study by Treasury economists estimated that a country with a tax rate one percentage point lower than another country's attracts 3 percent more capital. It's not surprising then, that average OECD corporate tax rates have trended steadily downward.

I think the first thing we should do is abolish the income tax.

If we lower the payroll tax, will Americans let us raise it again? I don't think so.

Get rid of the preferences and the special deductions and the loopholes... and invest in getting the tax rate to a competitive level so we stop seeing companies move off shore.

Taxing companies, particularly successful multinational companies, is one of the most progressive forms of taxation.

Putting, say, an 85 per cent income tax rate is unlikely to bring in much revenue.

Tax policy is not about compassion.

It's not hard to cut taxes.

Who's on the case when it comes to the flat tax?

I think that taxes have to exist. They should exist at the lowest possible level, and to the extent that we can, we shouldn't invent more. Maybe that's my experience being mayor of New York City, where we had so many taxes.

The tax rate of 35 percent is impossible to provide an incentive to the large corporations, that have $1.7 trillion offshore, to put their money back in the United States.

Obama wants to take the individual small business tax to 44 percent, and the corporate rate - he says - down to 28 percent or whatever. But that really damages the small businesses. And it doesn't make us competitive. You got to take them both down to 20, because state and local corporate taxes are 5 percent.

Everyone else is parsing it in terms of lowering the corporate income tax. Eliminate it. It's not that big of a generator of income, and it's a double tax. Get rid of it, and you would have an explosion of hiring.