FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 10, 2007

Isakson Urges Congress to Consider Tax Relief for Americans

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) today praised the Senate’s decision to instruct the committee that will craft a compromise on the Budget Resolution to ensure the conference report provides for the permanent extension of death tax relief and other family tax relief.                       

“A full repeal of the estate tax will let our hard-working taxpayers pass along their savings to their children and grandchildren tax-free,” Isakson said. “That’s good for families and small businesses, and it’s good for our economy. I will continue to do everything I can to see that we take action and repeal the death tax permanently.”

However, he voiced disappointment in the Senate’s refusal to instruct the committee to reject the House amendment calling for a $916 billion tax increase and to extend the tax cuts passed by Congress in 2001 and 2003. These existing tax policies include the $1,000 child tax credit, marriage penalty relief, the 10 percent income tax bracket, lower marginal rates for American families and small businesses, Earned Income Tax Credit relief for military families, deduction for student loan interest, the 15 percent rate on capital gains and dividends, and death tax repeal.

“The tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 lowered tax rates for individuals, businesses, dividends and capital gains, eliminated the marriage penalty and scaled back the alternative minimum tax and the death tax,” Isakson said. “Critics said we were giving a handout to the rich, but the facts are these tax cuts created jobs, allowed businesses to expand and left more money in the pockets of our families. We must continue our nation's unprecedented economic prosperity by making these tax cuts permanent.” 

In March, Isakson voted against Senate passage of the Budget Resolution, which would increase non-defense discretionary spending by almost $150 billion over the next five years and add $2.4 trillion to the gross national debt. It also contained no provisions for reducing entitlement spending.

During debate on the Budget Resolution, the Senate rejected a number of amendments to extend existing tax relief past 2010. Isakson voted in favor of those amendments, including a vote to permanently repeal the estate tax. If Congress fails to extend tax relief past 2010, the Senate Budget Resolution will raise taxes by $700 billion beginning in 2011.

The House and Senate each passed their own versions of the budget, and the conference committee has been appointed to will reconcile the differences.

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