Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Judy Biggert (R-IL-13th) today issued the following statement regarding her support for H.R. 8, the Job Protection and Recession Prevention Act, which would prevent automatic tax hikes from taking effect on January 1, 2013:

          “Just last Friday, I met again with local small business owners to hear their concerns about this looming tax hike and what the impact would be on suburban jobs.  It is clear that raising taxes now -- in the midst of a recession – would spell disaster for the recovery.  Taxpayers in Illinois are under enough financial pressure -- they need certainty, relief, and jobs.  This legislation will ensure that middle-class families and employers aren’t blindsided on January 1^st with a return of the marriage penalty, the AMT, higher rates on capital gains, dividends, estates and painful tax hikes on income.  Some say that the only option is to raise the top two tax rates, which would hit 53 percent of all small business income.  That would cost our economy over 700,000 jobs at a time when middle-class families can least afford it.  Congress needs to put politics aside and give the American people the economic certainty they deserve.”

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