[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 44 (Tuesday, April 15, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S3225]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        SENATE RESOLUTION 73--TO DECLARE THE NEED FOR TAX RELIEF

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

                               S. Res. 73

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

  The Senate finds that:
       (1) The total tax burden on the American family in 1996 was 
     30.4%, 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% 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) 56% 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% versus 3.2% in the previous ten years--and productivity 
     has increased at below-average-rates--0.3% versus 1.5% in the 
     previous ten years.
       (10) The estate tax can be as high as 55%, which is an 
     unjustifiable and confiscatory level of taxation that 
     penalizes work, thrift and entrepreneurship.
       (11) For three decades, despite spending over 3 billion 
     dollars 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 non-payment 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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