[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 13 (Wednesday, January 31, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H978]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1120
                        HOW FAIR ARE OUR TAXES?

  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to address to House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to my colleagues' 
attention a Reader's Digest article in the February issue entitled, 
``How Fair Are Our Taxes?'' The results should not be surprising. 
Simply put, and I am quoting from the article, ``Americans at every 
income level think we are overtaxed.'' Furthermore Americans, according 
to this poll, think a family of four should bear a maximum tax of 25 
percent. And that is not just Federal income tax, that is all taxes at 
all levels.
  I remind my colleagues, the Reader's Digest is a publication which is 
fair. They conclude clearly that a large majority of Americans, nearly 
70 percent of those polled, regard the tax burden as unfair.
  Mr. Speaker, my colleagues, we need to act now to reduce the tax 
burden for Americans. Not only is reducing taxes a matter of fairness, 
but a matter of economic opportunity for America and a matter of 
shrinking the Federal bureaucracy.

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