That is stupid. But on the other hand, maybe people will wait to die until 2010, when the death tax is repealed?
I am searching for the details of the bipartisan tax relief bill. I would guess this is accurate:
Under President Bush's Leadership, Democrats Have Gone From Opposing Tax
Relief In 1999 To Supporting A $1.35 Trillion Tax Cut Plan.
The $1.35 Trillion Bush Tax Cut Plan Is:
· $1.35 Trillion More Than Former Vice President Al Gore Advocated In
His Presidential Announcement Speech.
· Almost Double The Amount Vetoed By Bill Clinton In 1999.
· Over 5 Times The Amount Proposed By Al Gore In April 2000.
· Almost 3 Times The Amount Proposed By Al Gore In June 2000.
· Over 1.5 Times The Amount Supported By Senate Minority Leader Tom
Daschle And House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt In January 2001.
Senate Democrats Applaud The Tax Relief Bill And The Role President Bush
Played In Crafting The Final Package:
Ranking Member Of The Senate Finance Committee Max Baucus (D-MT) Says That
President Bush Deserves "A Lot Of Credit" For Proposing The Tax Relief
Package And Ushering The Bill Through Congress. "I think it's important to
give credit where credit is due. The president deserves a lot of credit,
not only because it's his original proposal, but, from my perspective, even
more importantly because he worked during the conference process to get a
fair, balanced result. He was an equal, or maybe more than equal,
participant in the deepest sense of the term. He could've been very
partisan. He was not." (Sen. Max Baucus, Press Conference, May 26, 2001)
Baucus Believes That The Tax Bill Will Benefit Every American. "This is a
very good tax cut. It's a very large tax cut for the American people. It
provides additional benefits for people who want to save. It provides
additional benefits for families to send their kids to school. It will give
about 11 million children help that they otherwise would not receive. It
gives a better reduction to lower- income, middle-income taxpayers than they
otherwise would receive. This is a very good bill, and I'm very proud of
it." (Sen. Max Baucus, Press Conference, May 26, 2001)
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) Supports President Bush's Argument That Tax
Money Must Be Returned To The American People. "'I strongly believe that
when the government is in a position to be able to return money to the
American taxpayers, we should,' she said. 'This approach to taxes -- that
the government taxes when it must, and decreases taxes when it can -- is the
approach that I took when I was mayor of San Francisco, and it is the
approach that I continue to this day.' Echoing an argument Bush has made,
Feinstein added, 'For people seeing their energy bills spiral up and up,
receiving these refund checks will be a big relief.' She also argued that
tax cuts especially benefit California because it is 'the largest tax-paying
state in the nation' and sends Washington $20 billion more than it gets back
in services." (Carolyn Lochhead, "Bush Savors Big Tax Cut," The San
Francisco Chronicle, May 27, 2001)
Senate Minority Whip John Breaux (D-LA) Says The Tax Bill Is Balanced. "I
think the people who pay the most taxes in the country get relief. That's
important. But people who need the most help in this country also get help.
That's why I think the bill is balanced. I think the role that the centrist
coalition played in insisting on the Senate provisions being part of this
package was a very important role. It['s] helping us immensely in the
conference to bring back a package that essentially contains all the
features of the Senate-passed bill, and I think that's particularly
important." (Sen. John Breaux, Press Conference, May 26, 2001)
Highlights Of The Bipartisan Tax Relief Bill:
Marginal Rate Reductions:
· Creates new rate structure: 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, and 35%.
· Gives lump-sum refund of $300 for single taxpayers, $500 for single
parents, and $600 for married taxpayers this year.
· New 10% rate effective January 1, 2001, on first $6,000 (singles)
and $12,000 (couples).
· Repeals personal exemption (PEP) and itemized deductions (Pease)
phaseouts beginning in 2006.
Marriage Penalty Repeal:
· 15% bracket widened to twice that of singles.
· Eliminates marriage penalty in the standard deduction for
non-itemizers.
Death Tax Repeal:
· Repeals the death tax in 2010.
· Phases in an increase in the unified credit to $4 million in 2009.
Child Tax Credit Expansion:
· Doubles the child credit from $500 to $1,000 ($600 in 2001-07, $700
in 2008, $800 in 2009, $1,000 in 2010).
Retirement Savings:
· Increases IRA contributions from $2,000 to $5,000.
· Increases 401(k) and other tax-deferred contribution limits from
$10,500 to $15,000.
· IRA catch-up contributions.
· Modifies Section 415 aggregation rules for multi-employer plans.
Education Incentives:
· Increases education savings accounts (ESAs) from $500 to $2,000 and
expands to K-12 public and private education.
· Above-the-line deduction for higher education expenses.
· Allows private institutions to offer pre-paid tuition plans.
· Makes permanent employer-provided educational assistance exclusion.
Adoption Tax Credit:
· Increases the credit to $10,000 for special needs (currently
$6,000) and non-special needs (currently $5,000).
· Increases the income phaseout range from current $75,000 to
$150,000.
Alternative Minimum Tax:
· Adjusts alternative minimum tax (AMT) to prevent taxpayers from
losing benefits of tax reductions in the bill.
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