B-016: National Defense Contribution Act, 1674

[Alfonso Velez]

Madam Speaker,

Neither I nor the Government take the idea of taxation lightly. This party and this Government stand for low taxes and keeping the Government out of your wallet. We also stand for ensuring that our Republic has the resources it needs to defend itself and to ensure that we manage the finances of Government in a fiscally responsible way so that we are not holden to other countries by crippling debt which, in my view, is a national security risk. Given the recent developments in Corrada del Rio, it has become clear that we must prioritize our national security and defense above all other priorities, and therefore it is imperative that we all make sacrifices for the defense of the realm.

Maintaining its commitment to low taxation however, this Government has carefully crafted this bill to ensure that many citizens of this Republic do not need to pay any additional taxes at all. Those making under 30,000 ecus a year or couples making under 60,000 ecus are completely exempt from this contribution so that our hard working citizens who do not earn above these amounts don't have to worry about making a sacrifice that may put their financial security into doubt. 

The rest of the bill is carefully crafted so that higher earners contribute a portion of their income as they are able, and these rates are still significantly lower than the rates that exist in many other countries.

It is my greatest hope that once this crisis is resolve and our military is strengthened that we can lower or even eliminate this assessment to our National Defense, but until that time we must act to ensure we have the funding we need to achieve what must be achieved. Therefore, I commend this bill to the house and ask for the support of this Parliament.