Boehner Hails Republican Tax Cuts for Creating Jobs, Providing Relief to American Families

Press Release

Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) today hailed Republican tax cuts that have provided relief on dividends and capital gains, especially the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act, which was signed into law one year ago today and extended relief on those investments.

Meanwhile, Boehner today voted against the House Democrats' budget proposal, which contains the largest tax increase in American history that some want so they can increase government spending and narrowly won approval on a 214-209 vote. Boehner also opposed this budget because it would destroy jobs and economic growth in Ohio and elsewhere if enacted. It increases the cost to individual 8th District taxpayers by an average $2,776 while forcing the loss of more than 2,200 jobs and causing an estimated $205 million loss to the local economy, according to The Heritage Foundation.

"The Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce has seen a noticeable increase in the business investment in our communities as a result of the provisions contained in the Tax Increase and Reconciliation Act," said Kenny Craig, president and CEO of the Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce. "As companies have been able to keep more of their money and invest it back in their businesses, it has led to increases in the tax base and the local work force in the City of Hamilton and Butler County."

Due to this relief, 24 million American families received average tax cut of $950 on their 2004 returns; seven million of these beneficiaries were seniors who saw an average savings of $1,231. In 2005, one in five families - 26 million tax returns - saw a total of $112 billion of dividend income that qualified for the lower tax rates. Contrary to partisan rhetoric that these kinds of tax cuts are for the "super wealthy," 70 percent of these families had incomes below $100,000 and their average dividend income was $1,600.

Republican tax relief policies have created jobs and increased opportunity for American workers and their families, small business and entrepreneurs. Among the results of the cuts:

* 7.8 million new jobs have been created;
* The unemployment rate has dropped from 6.6 percent to 4.4 percent;
* The federal deficit has fallen to $248 billion from $417 billion;
* The stock market has increased by 40 percent, reversing a three-year decline;
* The economy has grown by $1.6 trillion with the average quarterly growth rate at 3.5 percent compared to just 1.1 percent before the tax cuts were enacted;
* And business investment has increased at an average quarterly growth rate of 6.6 percent, reversing a 2-year decline in which investment fell at a rate of 7.4 percent.

"Republican tax cuts have helped create millions of good-paying jobs , and the tax relief on capital gains and dividends is a boon to millions of middle-class Ohio families who would rather keep more of the money they earn than send it to the government," Boehner said. "We cannot expect to move forward creating jobs and decreasing the burden on our taxpayers if we're penalizing them with high tax rates.

"Unfortunately, the budget resolution considered in the House today does just that by not only forcing every middle-class family to pay higher taxes on capital gains and dividends but by heralding the return of the marriage penalty and more individual income taxes. By pursuing pro-growth policies, eliminating wasteful spending, and keeping taxes low on all Americans, we can balance the budget within five years."

Kaivac, Inc., a leading manufacturer of institutional and industrial cleaning systems in the greater Cincinnati region, has seen tremendous growth in the period in which the tax cuts have been in place. Kaivac will celebrate its 10th anniversary next year.

"As a relatively young business, economic conditions have a significant impact on our ability to develop into a genuinely viable company," said Tom Morrison, vice president of Marketing. "Over the pat five years, the provisions in this legislation have helped us in investing in our people facilities, Research & Development and the technology necessary to sustain our growth. This investment has enabled us to triple our revenues and our work force over a five-year period as well as to build our intellectual property portfolio from one patent to five with 15 patents pending."

The month of May marks the four-year anniversary of the 2003 Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act, which reduced taxes on capital gains and dividends to strengthen the American economy. Earlier this month, Office of Budget and Management Director Rob Portman delivered a letter to House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt (D-SC) calling for a balanced budget without raising taxes. The letter notes, "The proven formula of keeping taxes low while restraining spending has decreased the budget deficit by over $165 billion in the last two years."

Boehner represents Ohio's 8th District, which includes all of Darke, Miami and Preble counties, most of Butler and Mercer counties, and the northeastern corner of Montgomery County. He was first elected to Congress in 1990.

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