FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 5, 2003
CONTACT: Kevin Schweers
SENATOR HUTCHISON INTRODUCES BILL TO ELIMINATE MARRIAGE PENALTY
Legislation Would Make Relief Permanent, Avert Multi-Billion Dollar Tax Hike
WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) today introduced legislation to make marriage penalty relief permanent, helping 35 million American families and avoiding a multi-billion dollar tax increase two years from now.
The Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (H.R. 2) signed into law last week repeals the marriage tax penalty for 2003 and 2004, only to see it reimposed in 2005. The Hutchison bill would eliminate the marriage penalty in 2005 and make the changes permanent.
"This is about fairness. Saying ‘I do' shouldn't be a taxable event," Senator Hutchison said, noting that 2.5 million Texas families would benefit from the legislation. "It's wrong for the government to tax marriage and it will be just as wrong in 2005 or 2011. We need to finish the job and eliminate the marriage penalty forever."
The legislation authored by Senator Hutchison – longtime leader of Senate efforts to eliminate the marriage penalty – would:
- Permanently increase the standard deduction for couples filing jointly to twice that of the corresponding single standard deduction;
- Permanently widen the 15% tax bracket for joint filers so it is twice the size of the corresponding single bracket; and
- Permanently raise the income levels by $3,000 at which the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) begins to phase out for married couples filing jointly, helping three million low-income workers maintain their EITC benefits.
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