[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17417]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     MIDDLE CLASS TAX FAIRNESS ACT

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                          HON. TIMOTHY J. WALZ

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 30, 2008

  Mr. WALZ of Minnesota. Madam Speaker last week, I introduced 
legislation that will allow tens of millions of middle class taxpayers 
to keep more of their hard earned dollars. My Middle Class Tax Fairness 
Act will help Americans who are being squeezed by high gas prices, high 
grocery prices, the high cost of health care, and the high cost of 
college tuition.
  It is unfair that hard-working Americans go to work every day and pay 
their taxes while corporations and the wealthy exploit loopholes in our 
tax code to avoid paying their fair share. That's not right--our tax 
system should be fair all around.
  People's paychecks are not keeping pace with rising costs. In fact, 
the average household income is about $800 less than it was just 5 
years ago, while the price of gas has doubled in that same amount of 
time. All across southern Minnesota, people tell me of the challenges 
that they face in our weakening economy: choosing between medication or 
basic groceries because their paycheck doesn't accommodate both, or 
dipping into their savings accounts just to help pay for a tank of gas.
  Meanwhile, our tax code is full of government waste and unnecessary 
give-aways to big corporations. Oil companies will receive an estimated 
$13 billion in subsidies over the next 10 years, despite the fact that 
they are posting record-breaking profits. Foreign corporations that 
operate in the United States set up dummy headquarters in tax haven 
countries to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. But middle class 
Americans sure aren't getting those kinds of breaks.
  It's time for a change. It's time to put hard-working families first. 
My Middle Class Tax Fairness Act will repeal these unnecessary and 
wasteful subsidies and close these tax loopholes. It provides a real 
tax break for middle class families by doubling the standard deduction 
for taxpayers for the next two years. This will provide an average tax 
cut of $750 for 61 million taxpayers this year alone.
  My legislation will also expand access to the Child Tax Credit, 
helping an estimated 13 million children who will either become newly 
eligible or receive increased benefits from the tax credit.
  The Middle Class Tax Fairness Act will also help offset the rising 
cost of property taxes for millions of Americans by allowing taxpayers 
who take the standard deduction to lower their taxable income by taking 
their property taxes into account. This will benefit more than 32 
million homeowners in the United States who did not receive a property 
tax deduction on their taxes.
  Finally, my legislation will help pay down nearly $60 billion of our 
national debt, to help address the fiscal mismanagement that has 
contributed to our stagnating economy.
  A few days ago, I talked to a young woman in Rochester, Minnesota 
named Nicole. She's 29 years old and commutes twenty miles to work 
every day to her job as a legal assistant. Nicole and I estimated that 
under my proposed legislation, she would save $832 on her 2008 taxes.
  I also met with another couple, Diane and John. They have a six year-
old daughter and recently purchased their own home. We figured that my 
Middle Class Tax Fairness Act would allow them to take advantage of the 
new property tax standard deduction and save them more than $1,280 on 
their 2008 taxes.
  These numbers may not be the billions of dollars that oil companies 
and foreign multinationals are used to saving on their taxes, but they 
represent real help for tens of millions of middle class Americans who 
are struggling to get by.
  It's the easiest thing in the world for a politician to promise 
someone a tax cut. But it's much harder to do it in a fiscally 
responsible way that is paid for. My legislation does just that, and I 
urge my colleagues to help me in the effort by cosponsoring my Middle 
Class Tax Fairness Act.

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