After the passage of the Senate’s tax bill early Saturday morning, President and CEO Geoff Anderson offered this statement:
“The Senate’s action to approve a hasty rewrite of the U.S. tax code and the $100 billion annual hole it creates in the budget means that this year and every year for the next ten years Americans will have to choose between ballooning deficits, and a torrent of cuts to vital housing, transportation and community development programs that will make rural places, towns and cities of all sizes less competitive and less resilient in today’s challenging economy.
“Smart Growth America has long believed that America is overdue for a reformation of our tax code. In fact, in two editions of our Federal Investment in Real Estate (FIRE) report in 2013, we proposed a series of concrete reforms that would help erase built-in tax incentives for costly sprawl, reinvest in America’s existing communities, protect American families and help more people reach the middle class.
“Considering the popular support for the broad idea of updating and simplifying the tax code, this bill from the Senate is an enormous wasted opportunity to produce something that would help more struggling Americans find affordable homes in places that are well connected to jobs and opportunity.
“When this tax package triggers 10 straight years of $100 billion deficits you can bet that the programs that local communities depend upon most for their continued success will bear the brunt of those cuts. They will be the ones picking up the tab for this monumental addition to the national debt.
Sensible tax reform, this is not.”
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Smart Growth America is the only national organization dedicated to researching, advocating for and leading coalitions to bring better development strategies to more communities nationwide. From providing more sidewalks to ensuring more homes are built near public transportation or that productive farms remain a part of our communities, smart growth helps make sure people across the nation can live in great neighborhoods. For more information visit www.smartgrowthamerica.org.