REPEAL OF "MARRIAGE TAX PENALTY" -- RILEY-SALMON BILL

Part of the Divorce Reform Page, sponsored by Americans for Divorce Reform
Polls | Legislation | Statistics | Articles/Opinion | Quotations | Other family-related articles

Saying that the "breakdown of the family has had
a devastating effect on our society," Congressmen Bob Riley
(R-AL) and Matt Salmon (R-AZ) have introduced a bill to
eliminate the dreaded "marriage tax penalty."
For nearly thirty years, Congress has penalized
married couples with a higher tax rate than single people.
According to Congressman David McIntosh (R-IN), "America's
government has begun to systematically punish the family.
... Today, 21 million couples in America suffer and strain
under a marriage tax penalty. The average cost to the
family is $1,400 a year."

Speaking to proponents of the tax-repeal bill
last year, McIntosh read a letter he received from a girl
in his district who was discouraged because of the
additional tax. She wrote, "My boyfriend and I would very
much like to get married... We both work...and make less
than $10 an hour; however, we do work overtime whenever it
is available...I can't tell you how disgusted we both were
[to find] not only would I forfeit my $900 refund check,
but we would be writing a check to the IRS for $2,800...I
must say it broke our hearts when we found out we can't
afford [to get married]."

McIntosh emphasized that the story in the letter
is not unique and said the tax increase is wrong and
immoral. He told the group that government should not
force people to choose between divorce and prosperity on
one hand, "or marriage and hardship on the other."
The Marriage Protection and Fairness Act of 1998,
as it is called, will not only bring relief to married
couples with two earners, it will also provide tax relief
to married couples where one spouse stays at home. Bill
sponsor Bob Riley said, "We in Congress have a moral
obligation to promote the family."

Source: Releases from Representatives Riley and McIntosh.
For more information, e-mail bob.riley@mail.house.gov.

[Quoted here from a release by The Family Policy Network ]

More about anti-Marriage Penalty proposals

Polls | Legislation | Statistics | Articles/Opinion | Quotations | Other family-related articles

Part of the Divorce Reform Page, sponsored by Americans for Divorce Reform
divorcereform@usa.net
John Crouch, Executive Director
Colleen Fannin Arnold, President
(703) 528-6700
To join, send $25.00 to Americans for Divorce Reform
1300 N. Utah St.
Arlington, Virginia 22201