WASHINGTON, DC - Rep. Van Hilleary voted today to make the tax relief enacted last year permanent. "When we passed the tax relief bill last year, a few Senators who opposed it used a technical rule to make the tax cuts sunset in ten years," said Rep. Hilleary. "The vote today in the House would save taxpayers from a big tax increase in 2011."
H.R. 586 passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 229 to 198. The bill makes permanent the tax relief enacted when President Bush signed the "Economic Growth and Tax Reconciliation Act of 2001" on June 7 of last year. The act's tax relief provisions are set to be revoked on December 31, 2010, due to the sunset provision inserted by the Senate using a technical rule.
Last year's tax relief measure cuts marginal rates, phases out the death tax, reduces the marriage penalty and doubles the child tax credit. The act was also responsible for the rebate checks of up to $600 federal income taxpayers received last year.
"The legislation we enacted last year is the most significant tax relief in a generation," said Rep. Hilleary. "It should become a permanent part of the tax code so families in 2010 don't go back to a future where they have to send more of their hard-earned money to the IRS. This is part of a fundamental debate between people who believe the taxpayers should send more money to government for politicians to spend and others of us who believe families should keep more of their money to meet their own unique needs. In this debate, I stand solidly with working families."
Over 10 years, last year's tax relief legislation provides $1.35 trillion in tax reductions for American taxpayers. When fully phased-in, 104 million individuals and couples will receive tax relief averaging $1,040. Nearly 43 million married couples will receive an average income tax cut of $1,720. On average, over 38 million filers with children get to keep another $1,460 of their income.