TELEPHONE EXCISE TAX REPEAL ACT -- (Extensions of Remarks - June 09,
2000)
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SPEECH OF
HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH
OF OHIO
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Thursday, May 25, 2000
- Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support today of H.R. 3916, the
Telephone Excise Tax Repeal Act. This tax is a regressive tax that now
collects over $5 billion each year from local and long distance phone calls.
The working families of this country deserve lower taxes and this tax repeal
will benefit them the most. This tax cut is also an issue that people care
about. I wish to express my appreciation to Robert Fuchs, a constituent from
the 10th District of Ohio, for bringing this issue to my attention. This tax
cut is fair and is long overdue.
- The taxation of Americans is necessary to pay for the service of our
government. The difficult question is how to structure these taxes. Regressive
taxes, which levy taxes regardless of one's ability to pay, are not fair. The
telephone tax is a regressive and unfair tax. Progressive taxes, which levy
taxes proportional
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to one's ability to pay, are much fairer. The
income tax is a type of progressive tax. I believe that the current budget
surplus is large enough to consider repealing other regressive taxes that
harrn lower-income Americans. As such, I remain committed to creating a more
fair tax system.
END