[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 91 (Wednesday, June 25, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H4380]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       MATHEMATICS OF TAX RELIEF

  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out something that 
probably has never once occurred to the other side. Consider this. 
According to the IRS, the top 50 percent of taxpayers pay 95.2 percent 
of the income tax.
  Let me just repeat that. According to the IRS, the top 50 percent of 
taxpayers pay 95.2 percent of the income tax. If Members understand 
that, then they can immediately see that of course those earning above 
the median income benefit the most from tax relief. After all, they 
bear the brunt of the tax burden.
  In other words, when the folks on that side talk about tax cuts going 
to the benefit of only the wealthy, what they are really stating is 
nothing more than the fact that people with higher incomes pay higher 
taxes, which is not exactly news.
  If one person makes $30,000 a year and another person makes $50,000 a 
year and both get a tax cut of 10 percent, could someone on that side 
of the aisle please explain to me how that is unfair to the person 
earning $30,000 a year? Could someone on that side please explain to me 
how the person making $30,000 a year is now getting a bad deal?

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