[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 34 (Tuesday, March 24, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H1386]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   ELIMINATE THE MARRIAGE PENALTY TAX

  (Mr. HEFLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, since 1969, the Federal tax code has 
penalized 21 million couples annually, not for getting divorced, not 
for having children out of wedlock, not for shacking up, but for 
getting married.
  When a couple gets married, they are taxed at a higher rate than if 
they were still single or divorced. The marriage penalty for the 
average couple is $1,400. Now this may not seem like much to some, but 
with an additional $1,400, an average couple could pay the electric 
bill for 9 months, pay for 3 or 4 months of day care, pay for a 5-day 
vacation at Disneyland, pay four or five payments on their minivan, eat 
out 35 times, purchase 1,053 gallons of gas, and purchase 1,228 loaves 
of bread.
  It is immoral that our tax code discriminates against marriage. We 
have a tax code that discourages marriage and encourages divorce. 
Reforming a tax code will restore equity by ensuring that working 
couples are treated no differently when they get married than they were 
before.

                          ____________________