TEXANS SET THEIR TAX-CUT PRIORITIES
As is usually the case, Texans were not shy about offering comments on the taxes they pay. In my annual questionnaire, which was published last December, I asked you to rank the importance of three potential ways to lower federal taxes: eliminating the marriage tax penalty, abolishing the inheritance or death tax, or giving all taxpayers an across-the-board 1 percent tax cut.
The mail really rolled in on this one, with 72 percent of you indicating your top priority would be a 1 percent, across-the-board tax cut. The remaining 28 percent of you split evenly between doing away with the inheritance tax or ending the marriage tax penalty.
Here are some of your comments on this question:
From San Antonio: "We need some across-the-board tax relief. We are lucky enough to make more than the average family, but we don't make enough to have any significant tax shelters or loopholes. We've worked hard and saved to get what we have. We gave up boats, RVs and other pleasures to put our kids through college without a single dollar of financial aid or tax break."
Cleburne: "Give every working American a tax cut. The surplus was made possible by government taxing us more than necessary. Let working people keep their money instead of sending it to Washington."
Dickinson: "Any tax relief would be welcome. The 1 percent could make a real difference for us. We feel the marriage tax penalty the most -- when it means the difference between just scraping by and actually being able to enjoy the fruits of all our hard work."
Tomball: "The ‘death tax' taxes both the living and the dead. Please do away with the inheritance tax first, and stop the double taxation of the same money."
San Antonio: "The marriage penalty is ridiculous and very anti-family. My husband and I sacrifice to pay taxes every April even though extra tax money is deducted from our salaries during the year. Single friends earning a comparable amount of money always get a tax refund, but we don't."
Gorman: "Since I am 60, married and in the $60,000 range, all three of these tax-cut questions affect me. The inheritance tax is probably the most unfair tax there is. It should have never been enacted. The marriage penalty is just another blow against the sanctity of marriage. In most couples today, one partner works just to pay their income taxes. Why does the government penalize success in the middle income bracket?"
Dumas: "The ‘death tax' is unjust. Why is it taking so long to phase it out? It should be abolished now. It has already destroyed more family farms and ranches than all the bad bank loans ever did."
Eagle Pass: "Doing away with the marriage tax penalty is first on our list. We are a working-class family. Please keep this in mind when decisions that affect us must be made."
Santa Fe: "The marriage tax and the inheritance tax should both be abolished. The income tax should be reduced by 5 percent."
Seguin: "Doing away with the inheritance tax is the most important. It forces couples (who may live another 20 years) to give away their prosperity so the IRS can't take it. My husband, who is 75 years old, is active in our small business and doesn't want to give it away and retire."
I remain committed to all three ways of cutting federal taxes. Last year Congress passed a comprehensive tax-relief plan that addressed all three of these priorities, but still allowed for a dramatic pay down of the national debt and dedicated all Social Security payroll taxes to Social Security. Unfortunately, President Clinton vetoed it.
We're going to try again this year by passing marriage tax penalty relief. Since I started this drive in 1997 to end the marriage tax penalty, American married couples have sent $90 billion to Washington in marriage tax penalty payments. The federal government should not penalize couples for being married. We can afford to end this practice, and I think we have a good chance of succeeding.
March 9, 2000