Graves: Budget Bill A Step Backwards

Press Release

Graves: Budget Bill A Step Backwards

U.S. Congressman Sam Graves voted against a Democratic backed budget bill today that represents the largest tax increase in American history.

"This budget is a step backwards," said Graves. "We already are over taxed."

The proposed budget would increase taxes on 2 million Missourians with an average tax hike of $2,824 per year according to an analysis. The bill reduces the Child Tax Credit and increases both the Death Tax and the Marriage Tax. Those changes in tax law were made in 2001 and 2003. Since then the U.S. economy has created 7.6 million new jobs, business investment has increased for the past 15 quarters and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is 41 percent higher than the 2003 level.

"Tax relief has helped create jobs," said Graves. "I'd rather let people spend their own hard earned money than give it to some bureaucrat."

In addition, the bill dramatically increases spending. It contains $22.5 billion dollars in new spending for non-defense, non-emergency appropriations. Earlier, $20 billion in unrelated spending was added to the War supplemental bill. Those increases represent the largest year-to-year increase in spending in history.

"You cannot spend your way to prosperity," said Graves. "Tax and spend does not work. This bill will hurt taxpayers and it will hurt our economy."

Source