On Tax Day, as Kansans write their check to Uncle Sam, most would agree they are paying their fair share and then some.

Now consider this: the so-called Bush tax relief of 2001 that was passed with bipartisan support, is set to expire at the end of this year. This means Kansans will pay even more next year unless Congress acts to keep the current tax rates in place. More than 900,000 Kansans have benefitted from this tax relief.

Today, 53 percent of Americans pay all federal income taxes. Unfortunately, I think the majority in Congress and the President will attempt to expand this divide by moving even more of the tax burden onto the shoulders of Kansas families by raising taxes on the top two income tax brackets, while keeping the lower tax rates at their current levels. They argue that those taxpayers in the higher brackets can afford to pay more.

It is important to remember small businesses are the leading jobs creators in the country, creating about 70 percent of the net new jobs in the economy. The president has acknowledged that fact.

Yet, according to the National Federation of Independent Business, half of small business owners with 20 or more employees, fall into the top two tax brackets. They employ more than 20 million workers – workers whose employers will have to pay higher taxes if these top two income tax rates are increased.

How will small businesses pay the cost of these higher taxes? By raising prices, laying off employees, halting hiring and not giving raises to current employees.

But it’s not just higher income tax rates that may be headed your way.

With the passage of so-called Health Care reform, Americans will see new taxes on health care. This bill has imposed new taxes on lifesaving medical devices that will be passed along to health care consumers. It burdens small businesses with job killing tax hikes and makes it more difficult for people to deduct medical expenses from their income taxes.

Not only that, the president wants to cut tax incentives for domestic oil and gas production to the tune of $39 billion. Kansas is a leader in independent oil and gas production and a reduction in these tax incentives would be borne by this industry and directly negatively impact the Kansas economy.

Finally, all of this comes at a time when spending in Washington is rampant while millions of Americans remain unemployed.

We ought to act now to stop from further penalizing hardworking Kansans.

The tax relief passed in 2001 ought to remain in effect to help boost job growth and then in turn, our economy. We need to stop the spending in Washington and commit to balancing the budget by first reducing unnecessary spending, before looking to small businesses and families to pay more in taxes. Finally, we need to take a hard look at reforming the tax code to make it simpler and fairer for everyone.

If you would like to know more about issues before the Senate, please visit my Web site at https://www.roberts.senate.gov . For regular updates, be sure to sign up on my home page for a monthly e-newsletter, The Roberts Report.