[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 35 (Wednesday, March 5, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H1521]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    END DOUBLE TAXATION OF DIVIDENDS

  (Mr. CHOCOLA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CHOCOLA. Madam Speaker, President Bush said in his State of the 
Union address, ``The best and fairest way to make sure that Americans 
have more money is not to tax it away in the first place.''
  Fundamental tax reform will allow all Americans to keep more of their 
own money instead of sending it to Washington, and abolishing the 
double tax on dividends is an important first step.
  Under current tax law, income earned by corporations is taxed twice, 
both at the corporate level and the individual level. Ending the 
doubling taxation of dividends would benefit millions of Americans who 
invest in successful companies, either directly or through retirement 
accounts like IRAs.
  Eliminating this extra tax burden will provide $20 billion in tax 
relief to Americans this year alone, resulting in higher levels of 
economic output and job creation, again starting this year.
  Fixing this flaw in the Tax Code is particularly good for seniors. 
Almost half of all savings from the dividend exemption would go to 
taxpayers 65 and older. The average savings for the 9.8 million seniors 
receiving dividends would be $936.
  Madam Speaker, it is fair to tax companies profits. It is unfair to 
tax that profit again when it is distributed to individuals. For the 
good of our economy and the good of all Americans, Congress should move 
quickly to end the double taxation of dividend income.

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