[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 97 (Wednesday, June 14, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H5910]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                            MARRIAGE PENALTY

  (Mrs. KENNELLY asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mrs. KENNELLY. Mr. Speaker, the American Heritage Dictionary defines 
the word ``simplify'' as ``to render less complex.'' When it comes to 
the marriage penalty provision in the Tax Code, the Republican contract 
defines ``simplify'' as 20 additional pages of tax tables and more 
confusion and headaches.
  Do not get me wrong--I oppose the marriage penalty and have tried for 
years to reduce it. The Republicans tried to make it better--and I 
applauded them for the effort. But the results do not live up to the 
promise.
  I have with me an analysis from the Treasury Department that says the 
Republican contract's marriage penalty provision is an administrative 
nightmare. It would add dozens of pages of tax tables, all for very 
little benefit to the taxpayer. Treasury also estimated that taxpayers 
with interest from savings accounts or who itemize deductions would 
have to do four sets of calculations under the new marriage penalty 
provision. That is the exact opposite of tax simplification.
  I urge my colleagues to rethink this provision. Anything worth doing 
is worth doing right. And things should not get more complex when we 
try to simplify.


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