Tax Cuts
In Brief
The saying goes only two things are certain in life--death and taxes. While legislation can't do much about the former, President George W. Bush campaigned on a promise to make your April 15 a little less depressing. While the Bush tax plan underwent several revisions and permutations, there are a few key elements that the President pushed for. These included tax cuts, phasing out the estate tax and more tax credits for children. After months of contentious debate, Congress passed a tax bill in May that will have retroactive refund checks mailed to many Americans this fall.
Of course tax reform is always a hot issue and this specific legislation is no exception. Read through these links to learn more about the Bush tax plan and what its supporters and opponents are saying.
General Tax Plan Resources
- Blueprint For New Beginnings
Detailed outline and summaries of the official Bush budget proposal, from the White House web site.
- Time
The magazine examines the tax cut plan that Congress passed May 26.
- H&R Block
The country's best-known tax clinic offers its insight and analysis on Bush's proposal. Learn about possible changes to the marriage penalty, child tax rates and education IRAs. The site also offers a calculator of potential taxes and graphs to show what you may save.
- Citizens for Tax Justice
Site of the nonprofit, non-partisan advocacy organization dedicated to "fair taxation." The organization offers its take on the Bush plan, and includes its effect on individual state taxes and revenues.
Tax Cut Supporters
- Bush Tax Relief
Paid for by the Republican National Committee, this site allows supporters of the Bush plan to watch an online video of the President making his proposal, calculate your tax cut, organize reform support in your community and write a letter to your local representative stating your views.
- The Heritage Institute
The conservative think tank offers a defense for Bush's proposals, claiming that critics of the plan assume a static economy and empirically tax cuts have appropriately adjusted consumer spending.
- National Taxpayer Union
This site clearly leans in favor of tax cuts and the Bush plan. The NTU is conducting a survey to find what kind of cuts taxpayers think are important.
Tax Cut Opposition
- Democratic National Comittee
The Democratic Party registers its opposition to the Bush tax plan and offers alternative suggestions.
- Center on Budget and Planning Priorities
An extensive index of analytical reports on the finer points of the President's initiative, available as both HTML and PDF files.
- Workers World News
The historical and notorious socialist workers' organization offers an analysis of the downside to Bush's tax plan. At the heart of the grievance is that the greatest amount of tax relief will be given to the rich, and that the tax cuts do nothing to stop poverty and unemployment.
Find Out Where Politicians Stand on Issues
View more articles, issues, questions or lists.
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