[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 49 (Wednesday, April 17, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S3485]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                TAX DAY

  Mr. PELL. Mr. President, Tax Day has come and gone, and I would wager 
that few outside of Washington, DC, marked its passing because they 
were so absorbed in the last minute preparation and filing of income 
tax returns. Most paid scant heed to this congressionally created day 
of moment, which, in my view, panders irresponsibly to popular aversion 
to taxation.
  It is far more responsible, in my view, to emphasize the positive 
aspects of public finance. Most Federal taxes flow right back to 
Americans in benefits and services. Federal taxes here includes both 
Federal income taxes and Federal payroll or Social Security taxes. 
Payroll taxes are used to pay Social Security and Medicare benefits to 
our elderly and disabled. Income taxes are used to fund the operations 
of our Government which include the provision of student loans for 
education, maintenance of our national parks and museums, low-interest 
mortgage loans for first-time home buyers, veterans benefits, 
unemployment compensation, and our military defense, among other 
things.
  I am advised that Federal entitlements--benefits citizens are 
entitled to collect if they meet certain demographic or income 
definition--reach 49 percent of U.S. households, including 39 percent 
of families with children and 98 percent of the elderly.
  Moreover, in my view, Americans are not overtaxes in comparison with 
other nations. The highest statutory marginal individual income tax 
rate in the United States, 39.6 percent, is relatively low by 
international standards. France, Germany, Italy, and Japan have tax 
rates that are substantially higher, reaching 56.8 percent. By another 
measure, using total tax receipts as a percent of gross domestic 
product [GDP], the United States has an average tax rate of 31.5 
percent. The United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Canada, and France are all 
significantly higher, with several having average tax rates in excess 
of 40 percent of GDP.
  Of course, constant restraint and diligence must be exercised to make 
sure that waste, fraud, and abuse are avoided at all times. But 
overall, I believe that our Federal Government has had, and continues 
to have, a positive impact on the lives of most Americans. In the words 
of Justice Holmes, ``taxes are what we pay for civilized society.'' In 
the end, we get what we pay for.

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