Paul Votes Again to End Marriage Tax Penalty

FOR RELEASE: September 14, 2000

Washington, D.C.- Congressman Ron Paul voted Wednesday to eliminate a longstanding marriage penalty in our tax code. The Marriage Tax Penalty Relief Reconciliation Act of 2000, legislation designed to redress the marriage penalty, was supported by Dr. Paul and passed in the House of Representatives in July. Although the legislation later passed in the Senate, it ultimately suffered a presidential veto late last month. House members sought to override the veto today, but fell short of the needed two-thirds majority. The final vote total was 271-154.

"I remain committed to eliminating the marriage tax penalty for families in my district," Paul stated. "Our tax code should provide married couples with the same rates and deductions that it provides for single people. What possible justification can the administration have for penalizing taxpayers for their marital status? No one should have to consider income tax consequences when deciding to marry."

Under current law, a married couple often pays more in federal taxes than they would if they were unmarried and filed two individual returns. A marriage penalty occurs because spouses who both work find themselves in a higher tax rate bracket as a result of their combined incomes. Similarly, married taxpayers are penalized by a standard deduction that is less for them than twice the standard deduction for a single taxpayer. The Act would address these penalties by increasing the income levels in the lowest rate bracket for joint returns to twice that of single returns, while similarly increasing the standard deduction for joint returns to twice that of single returns.

Paul praised the legislation as a simple and fair tax cut for families: "Married couples will pay less in federal taxes when we end this terrible penalty. Middle and lower-income taxpayers would benefit directly, despite the rhetoric from Washington. In fact, they would save $28.8 billion annually, according to a Congressional Budget Office report. Taxes are far too high for everyone, married and single alike, and passage of this legislation would have been a step in the right direction. While I am disappointed that the administration and some in Congress did not support our tax relief efforts, I am hopeful that the next Congress and administration will pass marriage penalty tax legislation. I plan to continue my efforts toward dramatically reducing and simplifying the federal tax burden for my constituents."