[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 10, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E190]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE SENIOR CITIZENS INCOME TAX RELIEF ACT

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                            HON. MATT SALMON

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 10, 1999

  Mr. SALMON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce the Senior Citizens 
Income Tax Relief Act. This legislation would repeal the Clinton Social 
Security tax increase of 1993.
  Millions of America's senior citizens depend on Social Security as a 
critical part of their retirement income. Having paid into the program 
throughout their working lives, retirees count on the government to 
meet its obligations under the Social Security contract. For many, the 
security provided by this supplemental pension plan is the difference 
between a happy and healthy retirement and one marked by uncertainty 
and apprehension, particularly for the vast majority of seniors on 
fixed incomes.
  As part of his massive 1993 tax hike, President Clinton imposed a tax 
increase on senior citizens, subjecting to taxation up to 85 percent of 
the Social Security received by seniors with annual incomes of over 
$34,000 and couples with over $44,000 in annual income. This represents 
a 70 percent increase in the marginal tax rate for these seniors. 
Factor in the government's Social Security Earnings Limitation and a 
senior's marginal tax rate can reach 88 percent--twice the rape paid by 
millionaires.
  An analysis of government-provided figures on the 1993 Social 
Security tax increase finds that, at the end of 1998, America's seniors 
have paid an extra $25 billion because of this tax hike, including $380 
million from senior citizens in Arizona alone.
  Older Americans are just as willing as the rest of the country to pay 
their fair share, but the President and other big spenders in Congress 
should not take that as a license to finance their big government 
agenda on the backs of Social Security beneficiaries. Our nation's 
seniors have worked too hard to have their golden years tarnished by 
the government reneging on its promises. In an era of budget surpluses, 
surely we can find a way to provide America's seniors with relief from 
this burdensome tax.

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