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House Speaker Paul Ryan is encouraging conservatives to engage in debate and rebuff criticisms against the GOP tax reform proposal.

In his remarks at the Heritage Foundation, Ryan said the country’s current tax system is bias against the middle class. The wealthy has the money to pay accountants to use all the loopholes in the tax code.

He emphasized that the current tax code does not offer meaningful relief to Americans. “It makes you shoulder more and more of the burden. It hurts your ability to save and invest.”

Additionally, Ryan noted that other countries are surpassing the United States because they offer lower tax rates to businesses. He said, “Our foreign competitors are more than happy to take the growth in their businesses.” As an example, he said America is losing jobs to China because of its “much, much lower” tax rates.

Ryan said the current tax code is enabling the country’s decline

Ryan pointed out, "This tax code is sapping our aspirational spirit and enabling our decline. So this is no time to shy away from taking on the defenders of the status quo. The special interests who prop up this tax code seek to extract the most value for themselves, even if it means keeping the country on the path of decline.”

Furthermore, Ryan said conservatives can do nothing or do something.  He said doing nothing means allowing stagnation to become the normal way of life.
According to him, “Stagnation is a breeding ground for a class-based society where elites in Washington seek to micromanage and predetermine the path of our lives.”

Ryan believes America has the “chance to get off this downward path” and remove these barriers to upward mobility.” The country has the opportunity to “restore the value of work and ingenuity.”

He asked conservatives, “Are we going to be a country that renews its promise, or are we going to live on the graying laurels of the past?”

Moreover, the House Speaker reminded conservatives that they’ve been talking about tax reform for decades. Now is the time to seize the moment and make it a reality.

Ryan says tax reform critics helped rig the system

Ryan warned that an army of lobbyists will protect special interests and derail tax reform. He is counting on the conservative movement to defend the efforts of the Republican Party to overhaul the tax code.

According to Ryan, the naysayers and defenders of the status quo are already spreading the same recycled stale criticisms about GOP’s tax reform plan. He told conservatives that these critics “helped rig our tax system.”

"I say: Let’s have this debate. Let’s tackle these baseless arguments head on,” he told the conservatives.

In late September, the White House and Republican leaders unveiled a tax reform framework. It will serve as basis for negotiation to develop legislation to fix the country’s tax code.

During his speech on Thursday, Ryan said the GOP’s tax plan will provide “real relief” to the middle class. It will reduce the tax bracket to three, lower the rates, and double the standard deduction. The tax plan will also offer bigger child tax credit. The tax code will become fairer and simpler for everyone.

Ryan said, “We are throwing out the special-interest loopholes that riddle the code.” He pointed out that it would be greatest nightmare of the defenders of special interests.

The House Speaker also rejected the arguments of those who oppose cutting the corporate tax rate. He said their “proposition is the most off base.” He noted that former President Barack Obama supported reducing the corporate tax rate.