Weekly Message 2001, #5 from the UCC
Justice and Peace Ministry
Tax Cut Battle Shifts to the Senate
[3-13-01]
On March 8, the U.S. House approved a 10-year, $958
billion cut in personal income taxes. The tax cut proposal now moves to
the Senate Finance Committee, which will consider an additional $650
billion proposed cut in May. The full tax cut plan proposed by President
Bush reduces federal revenues by estimates that range from $1.6 trillion
to $2.6 trillion over the next 10 years.
The UCC Justice and Witness Ministries has opposed the
tax cut, especially the plan passed by the House, which will provide a
only $300 tax cut to a single taxpayer earning $22,000 a year by the
year 2006. Many wage earners and fixed-income seniors in the UCC live
near this level. The small gain from the tax cut will be lost many times
over when inadequate funding forces Congress to abandon a Medicare
prescription drug benefit, or severely cut programs like Social Security
and education.
Contact your senators now and urge them to oppose the
tax cut until spending plans are in place. Only then will it be clear
how much of a tax cut we can afford. For more information on the UCC
position on the proposed tax plan, log onto www.ucc.org/justice
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The Weekly Message is sent by e-mail every Monday for
use in church newsletters and bulletins the following Sunday. To add new
names to this weekly advocacy service from the UCC Justice and Peace
Ministry, for more information, or to remove your name from the list,
reply to JPMDC@ucc.org. For
additional information on the UCC and the Justice and Peace Ministry,
log on to the UCC website at www.ucc.org
