Angie Craig: “I rise to introduce S. 2821, the Withholding Tax Relief Act of 2006. Today, President Bush signed into law H.R. 4297…”

“I rise to introduce S. 2821, the Withholding Tax Relief Act of 2006. Today, President Bush signed into law H.R. 4297, the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005, and this afternoon, I am making good on a promise I made on the Senate floor last week--to repeal the expanded withholding tax contained in H.R. 4297 to ensure that the bill does what its title claims, that is, prevents tax Increases. Americans have been asking for tax relief. Congress answered this call, in part, when it passed the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005. The lower taxes on capital gains and dividends--and the higher alternative minimum tax exemption amounts-- contained in H.R. 4297 will assist small businesses, encourage the kind of investment that creates jobs and makes our economy grow, and ensure fairer tax treatment for middle-income families who would otherwise be left footing the bill for a tax intended for the wealthy. Alongside these tax relief provisions, however, conferees inserted a sweeping new withholding requirement that will raise taxes by nearly $7 billion. This bill seems to have a history of that. When the original tax reconciliation bill came before the Senate, it contained a windfall profits tax provision that would have imposed an additional $4.923 billion tax on the energy industry. I voted against it because the bill that was supposed to provide tax relief actually raised taxes.…”