The 2003 Tax Cut: Proposals and Issues (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised July 16, 2004 |
| Report Number |
RL31907 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
David L. Brumbaugh and Don C. Richards, Government and Finance Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
Tax cuts were a major focus of the tax policy debate in the first part of 2003. In January, President Bush proposed a set of tax cuts for economic stimulus and in February he released budget proposals calling for tax cuts totaling an estimated $1.57 trillion over fiscal years (FY) 2003-2013. The Administration characterized $726 billion of the tax cuts as economic growth measures, designed to provide economic stimulus and improve economic performance. On May 6, the House Committee on Ways and Means approved H.R. 2, the Jobs and Growth Tax Act of 2002. The Committee bill proposed cutting taxes by an estimated $550 billion over FY2003- FY2013. The full House approved the measure on May 9. On May 8, the Senate Finance Committee approved its own tax bill (S. 2). The bill included tax cuts amounting to an estimated $422 billion over FY2003-FY2013, fiscal assistance for the states of $20 billion, and revenue-raising measures offsetting the amounts in excess of $350 billion. On May 15, the full Senate approved a modified version of the Committee bill as H.R. 2 (amended). The final compromise version was agreed to by both the House and Senate on May 23. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimated the final law would reduce revenues (and increase outlays) by $350 billion. This report provides a description of each proposal, including major proposals offered by the Democrats in both the House and the Senate. A discussion of the distributional affects of the proposals and potential effects on short and long-term economic growth follows. A side-by-side detailed description of the various major proposals concludes the report as an appendix.
