An Analysis of the "Taxpayer Relief Act of 1998"
by Gary Robbins, Aldona Robbins on 09/28/1998
6 Pages
Synopsis:
Today, the American economy labors under a historically-high tax burden. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) now projects that federal taxes will claim 20.5 percent of gross domestic product this year and 20.6 percent next year.
Before last year, the most federal taxes had taken out of the economy was 19.7 percent, in 1969
and 1981, years that were followed by recessions. A spate of recent economic crises around the globe is turning sentiment from bullish to bearish. On Wall Street stock markets have retreated as
much as 20 percent from highs reached in mid-July while on Main Street consumer confidence is showing signs of waning. As a remedy for an economic slowdown, some policymakers are calling for tax cuts both to spur growth and return some of the budget surplus, now expected to total almost $1.6 trillion between now and 2008, to taxpayers.
House Republicans just took a very modest step in that direction, passing the "Taxpayer Relief Act of 1998" by a vote of 229 to 195. This issue brief looks at the major proposals and the bill’s economic and revenue effects.
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