Bush to Donate His Tax Refund to Charity
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INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) said on Tuesday he would give his family's $600 tax refund, the first part of his 10-year $1.35 trillion tax cut for Americans, to charity.
Speaking with reporters at a Target discount retail store in Missouri, Bush told reporters his refund check from the U.S. Treasury would be going to charity, but he had not yet decided which group would receive his contribution.
Asked why he was giving to charity, Bush replied, ``It's because it's something people ought to do.''
Earlier, promoting his budget and tax cuts, Bush recalled what one taxpayer told him on Monday, when he met with workers at a Harley Davidson plant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
``One fellow said, 'I built a deck (with my refund), you need to come have a beer with me.' I said, 'I quit drinking,''' Bush told the crowd at Harry S. Truman High School in Independence, Missouri. ``He said, 'How about a root beer?'''
Bush has been defending his tax cut against Democratic charges that it has reduced the federal budget surplus to almost nothing. Bush dismisses those claims, saying the economic slowdown is to blame for the smaller surplus.
Bush stopped at the store en route to Crawford, Texas, where he is enjoying a month-long vacation at home.
The stop at the popular discount store was part of Bush's ongoing efforts to encourage Americans to spend their tax refund -- something his administration hopes will help boost flagging growth in the world's richest economy. |
