Tax Brackets

Stephen Moore is right (Column Right, Feb. 22). The best and fairest middle-class tax cut is raising the top of the 15% tax bracket. In 1994, United Californians for Tax Reform circulated an initiative to simplify the California tax code using the federal code as baseline. By eliminating many loopholes and deductions, we were able to raise the top of the lower tax rate for single filers to the salary of an assemblyman.

The facts are that for every $20 billion of tax relief we can raise the top of the 15% bracket at least 10%. If Congress had followed this practice each year for the past 10 years, the top of the 15% bracket would now be over $65,000 for singles and $100,000 for a married couple!

We don’t need to complicate the tax code to provide relief. Let’s just declare that the definition of rich is the salary of a congressman. Then if they want to raise our taxes, they will have to cut their salaries to do it!

ROLAND A. BOUCHER

Chairman, United Californians

for Tax Reform, Costa Mesa