[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 65 (Wednesday, May 20, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H3494]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          MARRIAGE TAX PENALTY

  (Mr. ROGAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ROGAN. Mr. Speaker, no sane individual, if asked to start from 
scratch, would come up with the current tax code in a million years. A 
tax code that is baffling even to the experts is indefensible.
  One of the aspects of the tax code that is particularly obnoxious is 
the marriage tax penalty. Many people do not learn about the marriage 
tax penalty until they get married. Then they discover all of a sudden 
that the Government wants to make sure that couples just starting out 
have a little bit tougher time than they had planned.
  Perhaps most surprising of all is the fact that the marriage penalty 
can be stiffest for those who can afford it least, the working poor. 
Those who benefit from the earned income tax credit can face a marriage 
penalty that can only be described as destructive.
  This tax code monstrosity should have been done away with years ago. 
It will take a Republican Congress to do away with it now. I urge my 
colleagues to pass H.R. 3734.

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