As you woke up this morning, it was hard to miss the loud jingle of Uncle Sam’s pockets. It’s Tax Day in America, marking another year hardworking citizens will hand over thousands of dollars to the federal government.

If this day wasn’t painful enough, some in Washington don’t think you are paying enough. In fact, President Obama proposed $1.1 trillion in new taxes in his budget request that he unveiled last week. While his calls for higher taxes came as no surprise, I do not believe this is the solution.

Our families and small businesses deserve a tax code that is simple, fair, and free of loopholes that allow some to beat the system while others are left footing the bill.

Our tax system has grown into quite the monstrosity, leading the American public to spend over $160 billion each year and about 6 billion hours simply trying to understand and comply with the unnecessarily complex code. When given these numbers, it is no wonder why over 90 percent of us either pay someone else to do our taxes, or purchase software to help us do it ourselves. With over 4,400 changes to the tax code in the last decade alone, the chances of making a mistake could mean a fine or even an audit. These trends cannot continue, and changes need to be made.

By making the code simpler and fairer, we can put more of Americans’ hard-earned cash back in their pockets where it should be. I am committed to promoting tax relief and reform that provide common-sense alternatives to the burdensome tax code that often discourages hard work, savings and investment. It is time for Congress to take the necessary steps to ease the pain of Tax Day.