J.C. Watts: “I rise in support of the tax limitation amendment. Never before has the need for this amendment been more obvious. Let…”

“I rise in support of the tax limitation amendment. Never before has the need for this amendment been more obvious. Let me touch on a few well-known numbers. The typical American family pays 38 percent of its income in taxes. This is more than it pays for food, clothing or shelter. Not since World War II has the tax burden on American workers been so high. At the start of this century, Federal, State, and local taxes combined comprised only 8 percent of Americans' income. Despite the fact taxes are at a peace-time high, the Clinton-Gore administration's new budget--which the House and Senate soundly rejected--called for $175 billion in new taxes and fees. With the Federal budget surplus projected at $4.9 trillion over the next 15 years, I can't imagine why anyone would want to raise our taxes, but the administration does. The temptation to raise a tax here and raise a tax there even in years of surplus and prosperity is just too much. They can't resist. This House is the first line resistance to further skyrocketing of taxes that have soared sharply this past century. We must hold the line. We must help our successors hold the line. We owe it to working American families, the single moms and dads, struggling under a tax burden that has nearly quadrupled in this century to hold the line on taxes.”