OCR Text |
Show THE VOICE OF BUSINESS Taxpayers cUgctbgehgH withholding ttix repeal By Richard L. Lesher, Pres., Chamber of Commerce of the United States Ask a politician about why your taxes keep going higher and higher and he will respond like a defendant in a paternity suit: I didn't do it. That's funny, with 535 Congressmen and Senators who never own up to increasing taxes on working men and women, our taxes keep getting higher each year. How can this be? Well, taxes are not brought by the stork. They are voted by our representatives represen-tatives in Washington. While politicians claim to be the taxpayers' best friend when they are back visiting the home district, somehow, when they return to Washington they pay more attention to satisfying the bureaucracy's insatiable appetite for your money. (You didn't need it anyway, did you?) ; Sad to report, but Congress is at it again. Last year, Congress voted to begin withholding on dividend and interest income. in-come. The withholding tax is scheduled to take effect July 1, this year. It is a bad law. The overwhelming majority of taxpayers tax-payers already pay their taxes on this income in-come and with existing reporting requirements, re-quirements, compliance will reach 97 percent. But Congress was not satisfied. They wanted to reach into your bank accounts ac-counts and take out your money so they could earn the interest on it during the year. But there is more. The cost of withholding income from more than 400 million individual interest and dividend paying investments will be roughly $3 billion in start-up costs, and annual costs of more than $1.4 billion each and every year. This deadweight cost to the economy will result in lower interest for savers and take money out of the economy which would otherwise be used us-ed to finance new home construction, car loans and new businesses. The jobs which would have been created will be lost. American taxpayers are hopping mad. More than 18 million letters have flooded flood-ed Washington demanding that the withholding tax be repealed. Senator Robert Dole (R-Kan.), the chief proponent propo-nent of withholding, has already received receiv-ed more than 500,000 letters. As a result, a majority of both houses of Congress have cosponsored bills to repeal this law. , But it will not be easy. Big government doesn't like to give back any cash it has been able to wrest from the taxpayers. Tip O'Neill is keeping the House from ' voting on repeal and Senator Dole has filibustered attempts to repeal withholding in the Senate. I thought you might be interested in knowing who stands with the taxpayers in this issue. Below is the vote to cut off the filibuster and allow a vote to repeal withholding. (Sixty votes are needed to stop a filibuster.) A Yea vote is in support of repealing this tax. A Nay vote tells you who wants Washington to keep its fingers in your bank accounts. YEAS: Mark Andrews (R-N.D.), Bill Armstrong, ( R-Colo. ) , Mark Baucus ( D-Mont.), D-Mont.), Lloyd Bentsen (D-Tex.), Joseph Biden, (D-Del.), Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), (D-N.M.), David Boren (D-Okla.), Rudy Boschwitz (R-Miss.), Bill Bradley (D-N.J.), (D-N.J.), Dale Bumpers (D-Ark.), Quentin Burdick (D-N.D.), Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), (D-W.Va.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Alfonse D'Amato (R-N.Y.), Dennis DeConcini (D-Ariz.), Jeremiah Denton ( R-Ala.) , Alan Dixon ( D-Ill. ) , John East, (R-N.C), James Exon (D-Neb.), Wendell Ford (D-Ky.), Jake Garn (R-Utah), (R-Utah), Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.), Orin Hatch (R-Utah), Paula Hawkins (R-Fla.), (R-Fla.), Howell Heflin (D-Ala.), Jesse Helms (R-N.C), Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.), (D-S.C.), Walter Huddleston (D-Ky.), Gordon Gor-don Humphrey (R.N.H.), Daniel Inouye (D-Haw.), Henry Jackson (D-Wash.i, Roger Jepsen (R-Iowa), Bennett Johnston (D-La.), Nancy Kassebaum (R-Kan.), Robert Kasten (R-Wiscj, Patrick Leahy (D-VU, Russell Long (D-La,), (D-La,), Spark Matsunaga (D-Haw.), Mack Mattingly (R-Ga.), John Melcher ID Mont.), George Mitchell (D-Mainei, Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska), Don Nickles (R-Okla.), Sam Nunn (D-Ga.l, Claiborne Pell (D-R.I.), Charles Percy (R-I11J, William Proxmire (D-Wisc. David Pryor (D-Ark.), Dan QuaylcR-Ind.), QuaylcR-Ind.), Jennings Randoph (D.W.Va), Donald Riegle (D-Mich.),PaulSarbanes (D-Md.), Jim Sasser (D-Tenn.), John Stennis (D-Miss.), Stevey Symms Hilda.), Hi-lda.), Strom Thurmond (R-S.C), Paul Trible (R-Va.), Paul Tsongas (D-Mass L Edward Zorinsky (D-Neb.) NAYS: James Abdnor (R-S.D.i, Howard Baker (R-Tenn.), JohnChafee (R-R.U, Lawton Chiles (D-Fla.i. William Cohen (R-Maine), Alan j Cranston ( D-Calif . ) , John Danforth ' R- 1 Mo.), Christopher Dodd (D-Connt. i Robert Dole (R-Kan.), Pete Domenici ; (R-N.M.), David Durenberger (R-Minn.), (R-Minn.), Thomas Eagleton (D-Mo.i, Slade Gorton (R-Wash.), Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Gary Hart (D-ColcJ, Mark Hatfield (R-Ore.), Chic Hecht'R-Nev.), Hecht'R-Nev.), John Heinz (R-Pa.), Edward Kennedy Ken-nedy (D-Mass.), Frank Lautenberg'D-N. Lautenberg'D-N. J. ) , Paul Laxalt ( R-Nev. ) , Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Richard Lugar (R-taU James McClure (R-Ida.), Charles Mathias (R-Md.), Howard Metzenbaum (D-Ohio), Patrick Moynihan (D-.N.V). Bob Packwood (R-Ore.), Larry Pressler (R-S.D.), Warren Rudman (RN.H.i. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.), Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Robert Stafford (R-VU.W Stevens (R-Alaska), John Tower iR-Tex.), iR-Tex.), Malcolm Wallop (R-Wyo.). Warner (R-Va.), Lowell Weicker R-Conn.) R-Conn.) and Pete wilson (R-Calif ) |