T. Gorton: “next Monday is the deadline for all Americans to file their 1999 income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service.…”

“next Monday is the deadline for all Americans to file their 1999 income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service. This week the Senate has appropriately dedicated its attention to the tax burden placed on Americans, particularly the unfair marriage tax penalty. Simply, the marriage tax penalty is an injustice in the current Federal income Tax Code that results in a married couple filing a joint tax return paying more in taxes than if the same couple were not married and filed as individuals. Every week of the year I receive letters from Washington state constituents outraged by the marriage tax penalty, but during tax season my mailbox is deluged with the protests of married couples. Last year, Congress passed a tax relief bill that would have eliminated the marriage penalty, but President Clinton vetoed this needed reform. This year, Democrats have spent this entire week delaying and then blocking a Senate vote on a bill to end the marriage penalty. Maybe some of my colleagues should hear what I read in the letters I receive asking for action by Congress and the President to eliminate the marriage tax penalty. From an email I received from a constituent in Maple Valley, Washington: ``I wanted to express my hope that you and the other members of Congress will be able to eliminate the marriage penalty tax * * * Why should I pay more in taxes since I am married?'' From Bellingham, Washington: ``Fairness! It all comes down to fairness.…”