[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 122 (Tuesday, September 15, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S10390]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          MARRIAGE PENALTY TAX

 Mr. FAIRCLOTH. Mr. President, I rise today to urge my 
colleagues to support the elimination of the marriage penalty tax. Our 
nation has recently witnessed violent assaults on children at school, 
an explosion of sexually explicit material on television and the 
Internet, and increasingly plentiful and inexpensive drugs. Now more 
than ever, our nation needs strong families.
  Unfortunately, our tax code encourages just the opposite. It 
discourages marriage and places an undue financial burden on couples, 
simply for being married. According to the Congressional Budget Office, 
21 million married couples paid an average of $1,400 more in income 
taxes in 1996 than they would have if they were single. This ``marriage 
penalty'' is immoral and patently unfair. We are sending the wrong 
message to the American people, and it's time for Congress to take 
action.
  Mr. President, I urge my colleagues in the Senate to support the 
elimination of the marriage penalty tax as the centerpiece of upcoming 
tax legislation.

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