August 23, 2004 Letter to Senators Warner and Allen and Representative Moran
PO Box 8208
Alexandria, VA 22306-8208
August 23, 2004
The Honorable John William Warner
United States Senate
225 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-4601
The Honorable George F. Allen
United States Senate
204 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-4604
The Honorable James P. Moran
U.S House of Representatives
2239 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-4608
Dear Senators Warner and Allen and Representative Moran:
President Bush and Congress have cut taxes three times in three different years. As a result, 111 million individuals and families will receive an average tax cut of $1,586 for 2003. The average American worker needs to work 23 fewer days in 2004 than in 2000 to pay their taxes to the federal government. The federal tax burden is now at is lowest level since 1967. All this has worked to boost economic growth. The economy is accelerating at its fastest level in 20 years and more than 1.1 million jobs have been created since the last tax cut was put into place.
Yet, some members of Congress do not believe that I should be allowed to keep my own money. Due to arcane Senate budget rules, their opposition meant that all of the tax cuts had to be passed with provisions that will lead to higher taxes once again. Even now, the big-government, anti-taxpayer members of Congress want to make sure that these tax cuts cannot be continued into future years. As a result, an Automatic Tax Increase (ATI) is on the horizon for every working American. Since these liberals cannot pass these huge tax increases through Congress they are now hoping their attempts to do it through Senate rules will not be stopped.
Please act now stop the Automatic Tax Increase before it kicks in.
Make the tax cuts permanent!
Sincerely,
James Landrith
November 3, 2004
Mr. James Landrith
P.O. Box 8208
Alexandria, Virginia 22306-8208
Dear Mr. Landrith:
Thank you for your comments regarding continuing tax relief for the middle class. I appreciate you taking the time to write and allowing me this opportunity to respond.
In 2003, President Bush proposed a comprehensive economic stimulus package that included several tax cuts aimed at benefitting America’s middle class. After months of debate, on May 23, 2003, the House and Senate, with my support, passed H.R.2, the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief and Reconciliation Act of 2003. President Bush signed the measure, which provided $350 billion in tax relief, into law on May 28, 2003.
As a result of the 2003 tax cuts, all taxpayers saw much needed tax relief through accelerated rate reductions in all tax brackets. The legislation accelerated the phase-in of marriage penalty relief in 2003 and 2004 and increased the child tax credit from $600 to $1,000 in 2003 and 2004. The increase in income level for the 10% marginal income tax bracket, initially established in a tax relief package enacted in 2001, was accelerated for 2003 and 2004, rather than 2008 as originally scheduled. Furthermore, Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) liability was limited at certain income thresholds through 2004.
Congress recognized that the 2003 tax cuts were essential to giving the economy the boost it needed by providing families with opportunities to invest, save, or spend, ultimately promoting long-term economic stability. Equally important, members of Congress understood that failure to extend the family tax provisions would result in the immediate imposition of greater financial burdens on middle class families at a time when it is imperative that we continue to stimulate economic growth.
On October 4, 2004, the President signed into law H.R.1308, the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004 (Public Law No. 108-311). After passing both the House of Representatives and the Senate last year, the conference report to H.R.1308 passed by overwhelming bipartisan margins in both the House of Representatives (339-65) and the Senate (92-3) in September 2004.
Specifically, the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004 extends four expiring provisions of the 2003 tax relief measure – the $1,000 child tax credit, the expanded 10-percent tax bracket, the marriage penalty relief provision, and the increased AMT exemption amount.
– Child Tax Credit. The child tax credit will remain at its current $1,000 level through taxable year 2010 and then will revert to $500 for taxable 2011 and thereafter. H.R.1308 also includes a provision that accelerates the increase in refundability of the child tax credit. For 2004 through 2010, the child credit will be refundable to the extent of 15-percent of the taxpayer’s earned income in excess of $10,750.
– 10 Percent Bracket Expansion. Under the Jobs and Growth Tax Act of 2003, the upper limit of the 10-percent tax bracket was expanded from $12,000 to $14,000 for joint filers and $6,000 to $7,000 for single tax payers for 2003 and 2004. With the enactment of H.R.1308, the upper limit of the 10-percent tax bracket will remain at $14,000 for joint filers and $7,000 for single taxpayers for 2005 through 2010.
– Marriage Penalty Relief. Two provisions in H.R.1308 directly address the elimination of the marriage penalty. The first provision extends the upper limit of the 15-percent tax bracket for joint filers to be equal to twice the upper limit of the 15-percent tax bracket for single taxpayer, thus eliminating the marriage penalty in the 15-percent tax bracket for 2005 through 2010. The other provision extends the standard deduction for joint filers to be twice the standard deduction for single taxpayers for 2005 through 2010.
– AMT Relief. H.R.1308 also deals with the growing number of working families impacted by AMT by extending the individual AMT exemption amount of $58,000 for joint filers and $40,250 for single taxpayers through 2005.
As a result of this legislation, 94 million Americans will avoid a higher tax burden next year, including 70 million women and 38 million families with children. The extension of these family tax cuts signifies the critical role that tax cuts have played in strengthening our nation’s economy. It is my hope that these working family tax cuts, particularly the marriage-penalty relief and the child tax credit, would eventually be made permanent.
Communications such as yours provide a important means to evaluate the interest and concerns of the Virginians I have the honor to represent. If government is to be effective, public officials must be aware of the interests of the people they serve.
Again, thank you for sharing your views with me.
With kind regards, I am
Sincerely,
John Warner
JW/hb