David Thomas: “I want to take this time--and I am sure some of my colleagues will join me--to talk a little bit about one of the items…”

“I want to take this time--and I am sure some of my colleagues will join me--to talk a little bit about one of the items that has been before us and will continue to be before us that I think is probably the premier legislature, and that is tax relief. I hope, as we move toward the conference committee agreement and as we move toward voting again in the Senate and in the House on tax relief, that we will keep in mind the big picture; the idea that American taxpayers are working harder than ever before, and the concept and the fact that the typical family is now paying more in taxes than they do for food, shelter, and clothing. Too many families have to rely on two incomes, partially because of the burden of taxes. The typical worker faces nearly 3 hours of an 8-hour day to pay their taxes. So that is what we are talking about. Of course, it is appropriate to talk about and of course it is appropriate to debate how this tax relief is designed. But we ought to keep in mind that we are talking about for the first time in 10 years significant reductions in taxes-- tax relief for American families. What are we talking about? First of all, a child tax credit; $500 per child tax credit, so the families can use their own money to spend in their own way to support their own children. We are talking about educational tax incentives; tax credits so that tuition for higher education can be offset with tax credits.”