About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

Marriage Tax Penalty Relief Provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 , Record No.: RS21000, Date: January 30, 2003 1 (January 30, 2003)

handle is hein.tera/crstax0202 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS21000
Updated January 30, 2003
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Marriage Tax Penalty Relief Provisions of the
Economic Growth and Tax Relief
Reconciliation Act of 2001
Gregg A. Esenwein
Specialist in Public Finance
Government and Finance Division
Summary
The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA)
contains three marriage tax penalty relief provisions. It increases the standard deduction
for joint returns to twice the size of the standard deduction for single returns. This
change is phased in over a 5-year period starting in calendar year 2005. The 2001 Act
also increases the width of the 15% marginal income tax bracket for joint returns to
twice the width of the 15% tax bracket for single returns. This change is phased in over
a 4-year period starting in calendar year 2005. Finally, the 2001 Act increases the
earned income tax credit phaseout start and end points for joint returns by $3,000 with
the increase phased in over a 7-year period starting in calendar year 2002. The Joint
Committee on Taxation estimates that the combined cost of all of the marriage penalty
relief provisions will be $63 billion over the fiscal year period 2002 through 2011.
All of the EGTRRA tax cuts, including the marriage tax relief provisions, are
scheduled to expire at the end of calendar year 2010. In the 107th Congress, the House
passed several bills that would have extended the EGTRRA tax cuts beyond 2010. The
Senate, however, did not adopt these bills. It is likely that the 108th Congress will revisit
the issue of making the EGTRRA tax cuts permanent.
Additionally, in response to continued sluggish economic performance, President
Bush unveiled a new tax stimulus plan in early January 2003. As part of his stimulus
plan, President Bush has proposed accelerating the phase-in of some of the EGTRRA
tax cut provisions. The President's proposal includes accelerating the increase in the
standard deduction forjoint returns and the increase in the width of the 15% tax bracket
for joint returns. The Treasury Department estimates that the 10-year revenue cost of
these two changes would be $58 billion.
This report will be updated as legislation action warrants.
Background
Congressional Research Service ** The Library of Congress

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most