Fixing the System: Tax Reform and Real Support for District 30

Prepared by: Rodney LaBruce, Candidate for U.S. Congress (TX-30) Unified Advocacy and Leadership Coalition (UALC)

Executive Summary

Families in District 30 are working harder than ever, yet they’re still falling behind. The problem isn't a lack of effort—it’s a rigged system. Right now, our tax laws and benefit programs place the heaviest burdens on those with the least, while letting giant corporations and the ultra-wealthy skip out on paying their fair share.

My plan modernizes the tax code to put money back in the pockets of workers, cuts the "poverty taxes" that punish families for being poor, and slashes the red tape that makes getting help a full-time job. We can fund this by closing the trillion-dollar loopholes used by the top 1%, creating a system that finally rewards work instead of just wealth.

The Core Problem: 5 Ways the System is Failing TX-30

1. Outdated Work Supports: Credits like the EITC and Child Tax Credit haven't kept up with the cost of living and leave out millions of hardworking people.
2. Upside-Down Taxes: You might pay less in federal income tax, but between payroll, sales, and gas taxes, low-income families actually pay a much higher percentage of their income just to exist.
3. The Bureaucracy Maze: Families have to fill out separate, exhausting applications for SNAP, Medicaid, housing, and childcare. This delay often means help comes too late.
4. Small Business Barriers: Local entrepreneurs in our neighborhoods can’t get the same tax breaks or capital that big-box retailers get for free.
5. Legalized Tax Dodging: Through offshore accounts and complex loopholes, billions of dollars go untaxed every year while the middle class picks up the tab.

The Solutions

1. Boost the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

• The Change: Increase the payout, lower the starting age to 18, and make sure seniors over 65 can still claim it. We will link it to payroll data so you get your money faster.
• Why it works: It puts cash directly into the hands of workers to offset the high cost of daily life.

2. Make the Child Tax Credit Permanent

• The Change: Ensure the full credit goes to the families who need it most, with higher amounts for kids under five.
• Why it works: It’s the most effective way to cut child poverty and help parents afford the basics.

3. Real Tax Relief for Small Businesses

• The Change: Provide tax credits for startups that open in our neighborhoods and for businesses that hire local workers and apprentices.
• Why it works: It builds wealth within District 30 instead of sending profits to a corporate headquarters across the country.

4. One Door for Government Aid

• The Change: Create a single "one-stop" application for SNAP, Medicaid, housing, and childcare. If your income hasn't changed, your benefits should renew automatically.
• Why it works: It cuts through the red tape, saves taxpayer money on administration, and gets help to families instantly.

5. Close the Loopholes

We will fund these investments by making the tax code fair:

• Carried Interest: Hedge fund managers should pay the same tax rate as a teacher or a nurse.
• Offshore Hiding: Stop corporations from stashing profits in tax havens.
• Inherited Wealth: Close the "Step-Up in Basis" loophole that allows massive fortunes to go untaxed for generations.

Why This Won’t Drive Inflation

This isn't about printing "new" money or untargeted spending. This is structural reform. We are:

• Moving money from inefficient corporate subsidies back to working families.
• Closing loopholes to pay for these credits instead of increasing the deficit.
• Offsetting taxes that workers are already paying.

The Bottom Line for District 30

Poverty doesn't exist because people are lazy. It exists because the system taxes survival while subsidizing wealth.

My plan flips the script. We stop rewarding tax dodgers, we stop burying families in paperwork, and we start building a tax code that actually works for the people who do the work.