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Issues: Working for Taxpayers“I support the middle class tax cuts, because I believe it is critical to our economy to not over-tax hard-working lower to middle class Americans.”
During Nelson’s time in the U.S. Senate, five major tax cut bills have been signed into law. Senator Nelson supported all of them. Senator Nelson played a vital role in both the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. During 2001, he was one of a handful of centrist senators that helped craft the proposal to cut taxes by $1.3 trillion that was ultimately signed into law. During the 2003 tax cut, the dynamics had changed. The economy was hurting, including the economy of nearly every state in the country. Senator Nelson joined forces with Republican Senator Susan Collins to insist that aid for the states should be part of any tax package. Nelson was frequently heard saying, “Fifteen thousand kids in Nebraska have lost health insurance in the last year. More than two thousand families have lost childcare subsidies. Twenty thousand farms may go under. Teachers are losing their jobs and all Nebraskans are paying higher taxes. Does it make sense to cut taxes in Washington while they raise them in Lincoln to meet obligations for Nebraska families?” Senator Nelson’s persistence paid off. The final $350 billion tax package included Nelson’s $20 billion to help the states, of which Nebraska received $108 million State fiscal relief helps to ensure that low-income families, children, seniors, and persons with disabilities most affected by the economic downturn will get the health and social services they need. It will also help to ensure sufficient financial resources for the hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and doctors that provide these essential services. It also serves as a disincentive to state to raise taxes to cover the costs of these programs. The bipartisan plan supported by Nelson provided $20 billion in federal assistance through a temporary increase in the federal Medicaid matching rate and block grants they can use for essential services or unfunded federal mandates. Senator Nelson led this nearly year-long effort, along with Senators Susan Collins (Maine), Jay Rockefeller (West Virginia), and Gordon Smith (Oregon). This bill provided immediate assistance in a time of crisis and prevented cuts in essential services when people need them most. Nebraska recieved more than $108 million in new funds in 2003 to help ease its budget crunch. Senator Nelson worked tirelessly to include State Fiscal Relief in the 2003 tax package because he understands that it doesn't make sense to cut taxes in Washington without doing something about the tax hikes in Lincoln and other state capitols. How do the tax cuts help you?THE ECONOMIC GROWTH AND TAX RELIEF RECONCILIATION ACT OF 2001 (EGTRAA) & THE JOBS AND GROWTH TAX RELIEF RECONCILIATION ACT OF 2003 (JGTRRA) WILL PROVIDE BENEFITS TO MORE THAN 640,000 NEBRASKA TAXPAYERS REDUCING TAXES
NEW 10-PERCENT BRACKET
REDUCTION IN INCOME TAX RATES
REDUCTION OF MARRIAGE PENALTY
INCREASE IN CHILD TAX CREDIT
REDUCED TAX RATES ON CAPITAL GAINS AND CORPORATE DIVIDENDS
BUSINESS BENEFITS FROM TAX CUTS
SOURCE: Counts are for the number of returns filed in 2003 that would have benefited from the package. These estimates are based on tabulations from all individual income tax returns processed by the Internal Revenue Service in 2003. Most of these returns covered tax year 2002. *Information provided by U.S. Department of Treasury Legislative Affairs, October 2004 |
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With a record of supporting tax reductions, balancing budgets and controlling government spending, Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson has put into proactive his believe that taxpayers know better what to do with their money than government bureaucrats. Since coming to the Senate in 2001, Nelson has advocated and played a key role in passing several tax cuts that were designed to put more money in the pockets of working families and spur a struggling national economy.