FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 28, 2000
CONTACT: Lisette McSoud Mondello
SENATOR HUTCHISON HAILS SENATE BILL
TO LIFT MARRIAGE PENALTY TAX
- "Government Should Help Families, Not Hurt Them" -
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison welcomed today's introduction of the Senate bill aimed at eliminating the unfair tax on millions of American married couples.
"The tax code ought to support married couples, not penalize them," said Senator Hutchison.
Senator Hutchison, who has been the lead sponsor of the marriage tax elimination bill since 1997, was joined by Senator William Roth (DE), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, who released the chairman's version of the bill today.
The unfair marriage penalty tax affects half of all married couples -- 21 million in all. The standard deduction for single taxpayers in 2000 is $4,400. But for couples filing jointly, the standard deduction is $7,350 -- $1,450 less than if the couple were unmarried and filing separately.
The Senate bill unveiled today mirrors legislation passed by the Senate last year, at Senator Hutchison's urging, but was vetoed by the President. It doubles the standard deduction to $8,800 and expands the 15 percent tax bracket for married couples to twice that of a single taxpayer. It also accelerates the implementation of the tax relief over the version passed by the House of Representatives last month. The Senate Finance Committee will mark-up the bill Thursday.
Senator Hutchison urged her colleagues to support this bill. "There is something fundamentally wrong with a tax system that punishes people simply for being married," Senator Hutchison said. "In a country that values families, this must change. Americans should not have to choose between love and money."
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