Wendy Sherman: “I yield to no one when it comes to dedication to eliminating the national debt. Robert Reich and no one else on the…”

“I yield to no one when it comes to dedication to eliminating the national debt. Robert Reich and no one else on the liberal side was in my district when that is the issue that led me here to the United States Congress. There is perhaps no part of our Tax Code that has been the subject of more confusion and misnomers than the so-called marriage penalty. When I began working as a CPA back in the Ice Age, there were fewer two-earner families, and we were told to urge clients to get married to reduce their taxes, to try to get married by December 31 to reduce their taxes for a particular year. Today, roughly half the couples get a marriage bonus. They pay lower taxes because they are married and would pay more if they were merely cohabiting. But half the couples are paying a marriage penalty, and that is why I have been intensely dedicated to eliminating that marriage penalty. However, the Republican proposal is so poorly drafted and so misleadingly titled. Over half the benefits go to couples that are not paying a marriage penalty, but are instead getting a marriage bonus, and three-quarters of the benefits go to the top one-quarter wealthiest families. This is as sneaky as a Valentine's suitor who has a little area on his finger where his ring has been removed. This is using the marriage penalty as an excuse to provide tax relief for upper-income families, half of whom are already enjoying a marriage bonus.”