[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 65 (Wednesday, May 20, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H3493]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REPEAL MARRIAGE PENALTY TAX

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, marriage, the very foundation of American 
social structure, is currently undermined by our American Federal Tax 
Code.
  That is right. Our current Tax Code, instead of being friendly to a 
husband and wife who both work full-time, places a tax penalty on them 
solely for the fact that they are married. Under the Tax Code, had this 
man and woman chosen to live together and file separately, they would 
not be punished with higher taxes. Mr. Speaker, this is just plain 
wrong. Our tax policy should encourage family formation in marriage, 
not discourage it.
  As our budget negotiations begin and as we seek tax relief for the 
American people, a repeal of the marriage tax penalty should be a part 
of the mix. This penalty hidden within the Tax Code harms the very 
institution on which we have built our society, our family. Let us 
repeal the marriage tax penalty once and for all.

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