[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 82 (Thursday, June 12, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H3790]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   MIDDLE CLASS TAX CUTS FOR FATHERS

  (Mr. KINGSTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks and to include extraneous 
material.)
  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, with Father's Day coming up, what can we 
do to help dads and to help parents and help children? Our tax burden 
right now is one of the biggest problems of raising kids. I know. I 
have a family of four. If you have a combined income of $55,000, 
$22,000 of that goes to taxes. Indeed, there are 62 taxes hidden in a 
gallon of gas and 109 in a loaf of bread.
  The Republican bill gives much needed middle class tax relief, for 
capital gains tax, HOPE scholarships, IRA expansion, death tax penalty, 
and, most importantly, to the fathers on Father's Day the $500 per 
child tax credit.
  Tax relief gives dads more time to stay at home to spend time with 
their children and impart values for the next generation. Unless the 
critics continue with the class envy that they are so clever at and so 
good, let me say that 71 percent of these taxes go to people with 
incomes of $75,000 or less and only 1.2 percent with incomes over 
$200,000. This is a middle class tax cut for fathers, and it is the 
Republican tax plan. I hope our Democrats will join us in supporting 
it.

       The following shows the amount of tax relief received by 
     people of various income categories over a five year period, 
     according to data provided by the Joint Committee on 
     Taxation: Under $20,000, -$5.5 billion (4.7%); $20,000 to 
     $75,000, -$83.5 billion (71.7%); $75,000 to $100,000, -$19.3 
     billion (16.6%); $100,000 to $200,000, -$6.7 billion (5.8%); 
     $200,000+, -$1.4 billion (1.2%).

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