[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 73 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 73

To declare the need for tax relief for the American people and condemn 
  the abuses of power and authority committed by the Internal Revenue 
                                Service.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 15, 1997

Mr. Lott submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                          Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
To declare the need for tax relief for the American people and condemn 
  the abuses of power and authority committed by the Internal Revenue 
                                Service.

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

The Senate finds that:
            (1) The total tax burden on the American family in 1996 was 
        30.4 percent, the highest level in history;
            (2) In 1996, one in every three dollars earned in America 
        was paid over in taxes to the Federal Government;
            (3) The Congressional Budget Office estimates that in 1997 
        the Federal Government will take $1.5 trillion from taxpayers, 
        the highest amount ever;
            (4) The President's Office of Management and Budget 
        estimates that in 1997, the Federal Government will take $673 
        billion from working families, the highest level in history;
            (5) President Clinton proposed, and the then-Democrat-
        controlled Congress enacted, a $241 billion tax increase on the 
        American people in 1993--the largest in history.
            (6) The American family today pays 38.4 percent of its 
        income in Federal, State, and local taxes, the highest burden 
        in history.
            (7) The date on which the American family is free from 
        taxes and begins to keep what it earns is the latest ever--May 
        7.
            (8) Fifty-six percent of all tax returns reporting capital 
        gains came from taxpayers with total incomes below $50,000;
            (9) Since 1993, the economy has had below average growth--
        2.5 percent versus 3.2 percent in the previous 10 years--and 
        productivity has increased at below-average rates--0.3 percent 
        versus 1.5 percent in the previous ten years.
            (10) The estate tax can be as high as 55 percent, which is 
        an unjustifiable and confiscatory level of taxation that 
        penalizes work, thrift and entrepreneurship.
            (11) For three decades, despite spending over $3 billion of 
        taxpayer money, the IRS has failed to create a successfully 
        functioning computer system.
            (12) The IRS investigated 1,515 employees for unauthorized 
        snooping in taxpayer files, yet of those employees only 23 were 
        fired;
            (13) The IRS has serious security problems which jeopardize 
        its ability to process taxes, and puts taxpayer information at 
        risk of being misused, changed or destroyed;
            (14) It is estimated that $200 billion each year is lost to 
        fraud and nonpayment of taxes, which the IRS is incapable of 
        finding and collecting.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE SENATE.

    It is the Sense of the Senate that:
            (1) In 1997, Congress should provide tax relief for the 
        American people, particularly for families with children, and 
        should cut the capital gains tax, reduce the estate tax burden, 
        and begin moving toward a fairer, simpler tax system.
            (2) The President should send a detailed plan to Congress 
        by August 1, 1997, addressing the problems with the IRS and 
        proposing an action plan to resolve these problems.
            (3) In 1997, Congress should pass legislation that imposes 
        criminal penalties for unauthorized snooping in taxpayer files 
        by IRS employees.
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