Taxes

For workers and entrepreneurs, few places are as ripe with economic opportunity as the United States of America. Our world-leading workforce, natural resources, educational institutions, rule of law committed to protecting capital investment, and unique features such as deepwater ports providing access to export goods and services to consumers across both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans provide opportunities for American families with few rivals elsewhere around the globe. Despite these economic strengths, there is much we can improve.

For many Americans filing taxes can be painstaking and time-consuming. Poor customer service and outdated technology systems at the IRS contribute to a lack of transparency and threaten to turn the process into a dreaded ritual every tax season. Streamlining the process to empower Americans to more easily file their taxes is an important goal.

This week our nation marked 163 years since the signing of the Homestead Act, legislation enacted by President Lincoln which played a key role in the development of farmland across Nebraska and rural America. Through perseverance, resourcefulness, and sacrifice, the Third District became a global breadbasket, and today, agriculture remains the economic driver of our state. For the future of agriculture, advancing sound domestic and international trade policy is critical to keep pace with innovation and secure prosperity for our communities.

This week, several House committees took significant steps to advance our legislative package to enact President Trump’s top policy priorities. In the Committee on Ways and Means, my colleagues and I began a meeting to consider the tax title of this package on Tuesday afternoon and spent more than 17 hours scrutinizing and deliberating before ultimately approving portions of the bill within our committee's subject matter.

The Easter holiday is a special time of year to celebrate and spend precious time with family. As the spring brings signs of new growth to trees and fields, we are reminded of the gift of life, the resurrection of Christ, and the blessing of creating memories with loved ones. My work on behalf Third District Nebraskans in Congress is especially meaningful when it serves to strengthen families and the relationships most fundamental for our communities. 

As we near the final days of tax season, customer service at the IRS is on the minds of many Americans. Most Americans work hard and pay their taxes in good faith, yet in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, 32 percent of customers said they were dissatisfied with their experience with the agency’s Independent Office of Appeals. Sadly, these rates have trended in the wrong direction since Democrats poured $80 billion into the IRS to hire 87,000 new agents in 2022. In FY21 just 19 percent of taxpayers reported dissatisfaction with the IRS.