Senate Prepares to Pass GOP’s Marriage Tax Cut

Hoping to draw sharp contrasts with Democrats over tax cuts, Republicans pushed Monday for congressional approval of a bill to slash income taxes by $248 billion over 10 years for married couples.

The Senate began by defeating a number of Democratic amendments, including a 50-46 vote against a less costly alternative that would have given married couples a choice of filing taxes as singles or jointly. Final Senate passage was set for today, with swift action expected to follow in the House.

Republicans want to send President Clinton a clean “marriage penalty” bill before the GOP’s presidential nominating convention begins July 31.

“We will see who supports marriage tax relief, and we will see who thinks American families are not entitled to this relief,” said Sen. William V. Roth Jr. (R-Del.), the Senate Finance Committee chairman.

Clinton has said he could sign the measure into law only under one condition: that Congress also send him legislation creating a prescription drug benefit in the Medicare program. White House spokesman Joe Lockhart accused Republicans of playing politics by passing the tax-cut bill alone to force a veto.

“They can make political points, pass bills so they can talk about them at their convention, or we can get marriage penalty relief and prescription drugs for seniors,” Lockhart said. “It’s up to them: politics or substance?”

Elimination of the marriage penalty was the centerpiece of the $792-billion Republican tax cut vetoed last year by the president. Republicans have spent this year passing bite-sized pieces of that larger tax cut using the huge budget surplus, hoping to frame clearer election-year distinctions between themselves and Democrats.

The marriage penalty bill gradually would enlarge both the 15% and 28% tax brackets so they apply to a greater share of a married couple’s income. Today, two single people enjoy wider tax brackets than a comparable married couple, resulting in an average tax bill $1,400 higher for 25 million couples.

The measure also would boost a married couple’s standard deduction in 2001 so that it equals that of two single people, an increase from $7,350 to $8,800.