(Washington D.C.)- U.S. Rep. Sander Levin (D-Royal Oak), a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, speaking on the House floor today blasted the Republican Majority's misguided Tax Reconciliation Conference Report, H.R. 4297. The Republican Tax Bill rewards those making a million dollars or more with an average tax cut of $42,000, while giving American middle-class families an average of $20. The GOP Tax Bill passed the House on a vote of 244 to 185.

"This Tax Bill has caviar for the very wealthy and mostly crumbs for America's working families," said U.S. Rep. Levin. "The Republicans want to pass tax cuts today for the very wealthy, but tomorrow the Republicans want to raise the debt limit by $653 billion. If the Republican's tax policies are so great, then why has our national debt continued to grow?"

The conference report on the tax reconciliation bill will cost approximately $70 billion over ten years. The Republican proposal would extend President Bush's deep cuts to tax rates on dividends and capital gains, which do not expire until the end of 2008, while only temporarily providing relief to American middle-class families through patching the Alternative Minimum Tax for 2006. 

SAVINGS UNDER GOP TAX BILL
Income, in 2005 dollars           Average tax saving
$10,000-20,000                            $2
$20,000-30,000                             9
$30,000-40,000                           16
$40,000-50,000                            46
$50,000-75,000                          110
$75,000-100,000                        403
$100,000-200,000                   1,388
$200,000-500,000                   4,499
$500,000-1 million                  5,562
More than $1 million              41,977
SOURCE: Tax Policy Center

Tomorrow, the Republicans plan to bring to the House floor their Budget, which calls for increasing the national debt limit from $8.965 trillion to $9.618 trillion -- an increase of $653 billion. The national debt has already increased nearly $3 trillion since President Bush took office.

"We should be providing permanent AMT relief to millions of Americans instead of again rewarding millionaires with additional tax cuts," continued Levin. "Democrats have voted on providing AMT relief to working families several times, but Republicans have refused to do so."

The Tax Policy Center calculates that Americans making $30,000 to $40,000 a year would receive an average tax cut of about $16.00 under the GOP tax agreement, while Americans making a million dollars or more a year would get average tax cuts of more than $40,000.00 a year. 

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