Providing for Consideration of H.R. 3996, Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007

SPEECH OF HON. BETTY McCOLLUM OF MINNESOTA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2007

* Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support the Temporary Tax Relief Act (H.R. 3996), and I would like to congratulate Chairman RANGEL and Speaker PELOSI for putting families first. This bill is necessary, fair and fiscally responsible. H.R. 3996 reverses the trend of tax breaks for the wealthy and instead gives a well deserved break to hard working middle class Americans.

* The AMT was originally designed to ensure that very wealthy individuals did not use loopholes and deductions to avoid paying much or all of their taxes, and for many years it did just that. However, since the AMT was not indexed for inflation, a problem ignored by past Congresses, it now threatens to ensnare 23 million middle-class families. We must act now to prevent this unintended burden on hard-working Americans.

* Additionally, several tax benefits for research and development, veterans, college students, and families will be extended by this legislation. These are important provisions of the tax code that, if allowed to expire, would cause millions of American families and businesses to be hit with an unexpectedly high bill from the IRS this year.

* Unlike recent Congresses, we in the 110th Congress have made a commitment to pay-as-you-go spending principles. We are all best served by a tax code that is fair, simple and based on the ability to pay, and fixing the tax code for the middle class will mean lessened collections by the IRS. That is why this legislation pays for these tax benefits for middle class Americans by closing loopholes for a few wealthy individuals, such as those who pay less tax on the bonuses they receive for managing multi-million dollar hedge funds than most Americans pay on their hard-earned income.

* This legislation also fixes a flaw in the tax code that places an undue burden on families facing foreclosure. Due to this flaw, the outstanding debt owed on a foreclosed home is counted as income for tax purposes. The individuals affected by this never see this `income' and are clearly not in any position to pay taxes on additional tens of thousands of dollars. This bill will prevent this on-paper income from forcing American families to pay taxes on their misfortune.

* I urge my colleagues to support this much needed and fully paid-for tax break for middle class America.

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