[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 7110-7111]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               TAX RELIEF

  (Mr. SHIMKUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, last week millions of Americans got a 
surprise when they filed their tax returns. This year a record 44 
million tax returns, one-third of all returns filed, have no income tax 
liability because of

[[Page 7111]]

the available credits and deductions in the Tax Code. This is a 50 
percent increase in the number of zero-tax filers in just 4 years. The 
vast majority of these 44 million filers are from low-income households 
who saw their tax liability disappear thanks to the tax cuts pushed by 
President Bush and this House.
  The expansion of the 10 percent bracket, the increased child tax 
credit, and the marriage penalty relief are the leading reasons that so 
many people were able to have zero liability. All these tax provisions 
are in jeopardy if Congress does not act to extend them by the end of 
this year.
  These are not tax cuts for the rich. They are tax provisions designed 
to help working men and women bring home more of their paychecks. In 
fact, 75 percent of the 44 million will earn less than $20,000 per 
year, and 97 percent will earn less than $40,000 per year.
  Congress needs to extend these provisions and continue giving tax 
relief to working America.

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