[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 101 (Wednesday, July 16, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H5304]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CLASS WARFARE BY DEMOCRATS, WITH IMPUTED INCOME SCHEME RAISING MIDDLE-
                         CLASS AMERICANS' TAXES

  (Mr. GUTKNECHT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Mr. Speaker, let us talk about class warfare. 
According to the Census Bureau, the median family income in the United 
States today for a family of four is $47,000 a year. Let me be clear, 
that is $47,000 American dollars, not Euro-dollars, not imputed 
dollars, not even bus tokens. We are talking about real money here.
  Let us imagine such a family. Let us give them names, Al and Betty 
Jones, with a son in eighth grade and a daughter going to college this 
fall. Under our tax relief plan, the Joneses would get to keep an extra 
$1,900 of their money. Using the imputed income scheme that the 
Democrats want to use, the Jones' income magically rises from $47,000 
to nearly $80,000. Congratulations, Al and Betty, you are now rich. You 
no longer qualify for family tax relief under the Democrats' own plan.
  Worse yet, if we carry this bizarre arithmetic to its imputed 
conclusion, these rich Joneses would now owe almost $8,000 in new 
taxes. So instead of getting $1,900 in tax relief under our plan, Al 
and Betty get a hefty tax hike. I guess that is just the Washington 
liberal way of keeping up with the Joneses.

                          ____________________