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Speaker Ryan wants "leaner, meaner" tax code

Paul Ryan on tax reform
House Speaker Paul Ryan on tax reform 00:48

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan says the purpose of the Republican tax reform he will initiate as soon as Donald Trump assumes the presidency is to grow the economy.  In an interview with Scott Pelley, Ryan says the reform will be centered on simplification of a tax code he says is not working for “anybody.” Ryan’s interview will be broadcast on 60 Minutes Sunday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

An excerpt of it appeared on CBS This Morning. The text of that excerpt is below. 

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House Speaker Paul Ryan and CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley CBS News

Scott Pelley: Do you think the rich will benefit the most from your tax reform plan?

Paul Ryan: Here’s the point of our tax plan. Grow jobs. Get this economy growing. Get the IRS out of people’s lives. Make our system leaner, meaner, more efficient. The individual income tax we’re proposing, you could fit on a postcard. Right now, the tax code is so complicated, so complex.

It is not working for anybody. So our thinking isn’t how to redistribute income in America. We don’t look at the economy as it’s some fixed pie, and we have to re-slice the pie in America, in Washington. Our whole premise of tax reform-- get this economy growing. Get businesses adding jobs. Raise wages. Simplify the tax system, so it’s easy to comply with.

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