Our Tax Code is Stuck in the '80s

Can you remember a time when "That’s What Friends Are For" ruled the charts? And gas cost 86 cents a gallon? It was 1986, and boy have things changed. Don't believe me? Let’s fire up the DeLorean and take look back at some highlights from the year:

Shoulder Pads

In 1986, you weren’t fashionable if you didn’t know how to work a pair of shoulder pads. Throw in a pair of acid wash jeans and you had one radical look. Tubular!   

Top Gun

Who could forget Tom Cruise as Lt. Maverick Mitchell in this classic of 1980s cinema? "Top Gun" was the top-grossing movie in 1986. And for good reason – have there ever been so many classic quotes in one movie? "I feel the need…the need for speed!"

What Hasn’t Changed?

Fashion and cultural trends have changed a lot since 1986. If you wore shoulder pads and acid jeans, they’re probably in the back of a closet collecting dust. And a gallon of gas now costs an average of $2.41 nationally.

But there’s one unpopular remnant of 1986 that hasn’t been updated: Our nation’s tax code.

Since its last significant update in 1986, the U.S. tax code has failed to keep pace with the changing economic landscape. It’s time for a modern tax code that supports innovation, jobs, education and levels the economic playing field for U.S.-based companies.

Not everything vintage is worth saving, especially when it comes to tax reform. 

By Amy O'Connor