FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 12, 2000
CONTACT: Lisette McSoud Mondello
SENATOR HUTCHISON LEADS CAPITOL HILL RALLY
FOR REPEAL OF MARRIAGE PENALTY TAX
- "A Make or Break Vote for America's Married Couples" -
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison led a rally today in the shadows of the U.S. Capitol to urge Senate passage of the Marriage Penalty Tax Relief bill.
"Right before tax day, the Senate has the chance to end one of the most unfair taxes faced by American families," said Senator Hutchison. "Repealing the Marriage Penalty Tax is the right thing to do because it will help hard working Americans, our police officers and teachers, save what they earn -- helping them pay the mortgage, buy a first home or take a well-deserved family vacation."
Joining Senator Hutchison at the rally were married couples who want an end to this tax discrimination, leaders of grass-roots anti-tax and pro-family groups and other Senators who plan to vote to repeal the Marriage Penalty Tax.
"The President has called for ‘a genuine easing' of the marriage penalty and that is precisely what this bill delivers," said Senator Hutchison, who has led the fight since 1997 to repeal the Marriage Penalty Tax. "I urge the President to back his words by signing this bill."
The unfair marriage penalty tax affects half of all American 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 couples filed separately. The bill doubles the standard deduction to $8,800 and expands the 15 and 28 percent tax brackets for married couples to twice that of a single taxpayer.
The Senate Finance Committee reported out a Marriage Penalty Tax Relief bill two weeks ago which includes key provisions of S.12, legislation introduced earlier by Senator Hutchison. The House of Representatives passed a Marriage Penalty Tax Relief bill on February 10 by a vote of 268-158. During debate on next year's budget last week, the Senate voted 99-1 in support of the Hutchison-Ashcroft amendment calling for a repeal of the Marriage Penalty Tax by April 17, the deadline for Americans to file their tax returns.
"There is something fundamentally wrong with a tax system that punishes people simply for being married," Senator Hutchison said. "Americans should not have to choose between love and money."
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