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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The tax relief enacted since 2001 has pushed after-tax median income for married-couple families with two children to historic highs, according to a new Joint Economic Committee study released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The new study, Family Income and Income Taxes During the Economic Recovery, examines the impact of the 10 percent tax bracket, expanded child credit, and marriage penalty relief on the after-tax income of such families between 2001 and 2003.

   According to the study, median income after taxes for married-couple families with two children reached a record high of $57,330 in 2003, an increase of $1,233, or 2.2 percent, above the 2000 level. The tax relief passed since 2001 boosted income after federal taxes for such families by a combined total of more than $3,500 over the last three years. In 2003 alone, tax relief produced tax savings of $1,933 for the typical middle-income, four-person family, with two children.

   “The rise in after-tax family income documented in this report clearly shows the value of the recent tax relief legislation, and why it should be made permanent,” Saxton said. “The typical middle-income family of the kind examined in this study is financially better off now than ever before because their tax burden has been lowered by the tax bills of 2001 and 2003.

   &#147After-tax income is important because it reflects what portion of income is actually available to cover family expenses such as mortgage payments, food, clothing and other needs. The tax relief bills had the effect of protecting many American families from the impact of the unprecedented shocks to the economic system. In the context of the current economic expansion, these benefits should be made permanent to ensure continued progress in the American standard of living,” Saxton concluded.

   For more information on tax policy, please visit our website at www.house.gov/jec.

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