[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 20, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E979-E980]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        INTRODUCTION OF THE MARRIED COUPLES HOME SALE EQUITY ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAVE WELDON

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 20, 1997

  Mr. WELDON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, today, I am introducing the 
Married Couples Home Sale Equity Act. This bill will correct an 
inequity in the Tax Code that unfairly penalizes married couples.
  Let's take Tom and Mary as an example. Tom and Mary have been married 
for 30 years and have lived in their home for 15 years. They are each 
over the age of 55 and have decided to sell their home now that their 
children are no longer at home. They want to move to a smaller home and 
use the money they have earned from the appreciation on their home for 
their retirement. They bought their home for $100,000 and it has 
appreciated to $350,000. When Tom and Mary sell their home, they are 
allowed a combined $125,000 exemption from capital gains taxes. This 
means they will have to pay capital gains taxes on the other $125,000.
  Let's take the exact same situation except we will assume that Tom 
and Mary chose not

[[Page E980]]

to marry but decided to live together outside of the bond of marriage. 
When Tom and Mary sell the home they are each entitled to exempt 
$125,000 from capital gains taxes for a total of $250,000. Thus they 
are exempted from having to pay any taxes at all, even though they 
realized the same gain on their home. The only differing factor is that 
they are not married.
  Our Government should be about the business of encouraging strong 
families, not penalizing them for staying married. We should do 
everything within our power to promote strong marriages and families. 
Correcting this inequity will help us do this.
  My bill gives both a husband and a wife $125,000 each upon the sale 
of their home, thus raising from $125,000 to $250,000 the total 
exemption available to married couples. This is the same level of 
exemption nonmarried individuals are entitled to and its time we 
treated married couples equitably.
  I encourage my colleagues to join me by cosponsoring this bill. Let's 
help America's families. Let's encourage marriage and the stability it 
brings to our society and our children.

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