Political Quotes

“I, too, have also been receiving letters and E-mails as well of those who have been suffering from the marriage penalty. Like our friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), I have been written by a number of tax preparers who have shared examples. One gentleman, a Robert Eckert of Jacksonville, Florida, in a letter that he shared with us, he says, ``As a seasonal tax preparer and enrolled agent, I find the marriage penalty can be very significant; 12 percent of after-tax income or 33 percent increase in tax liability for many couples. This marriage penalty hits all ages and all incomes.'' He has several examples here; I will mention a couple of them. One is a retired couple and the other is a low income couple. The retired on Social Security couple, he says this couple got married midyear, each with about $20,000 in company pension income and $12,000 in Social Security payments. As singles, they would pay no tax on the Social Security income; but as married, $16,000 of combined Social Security payments become taxable for a penalty of $2,400. Think about that. A married, retired couple paying $2,400 just because they are married.”