George W. Bush 2004 On The Issues
The President’s
Economic Security Agenda
On May 28, 2003,
President Bush signed into law a bold jobs and growth plan to strengthen
America's economy and ensure its continued growth.
The House and Senate acted in a bipartisan fashion to make the President’s
tax relief plan a reality for American families, seniors, small
businesses, and entrepreneurs. In passing a jobs and growth plan, the
administration has taken aggressive action to strengthen the foundation of
our economy so that every American who wants to work will be able to find
a job.
The President’s Jobs and Growth Act of 2003 will create jobs and grow the
economy by:
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Speeding up the 2001
tax cuts to increase the pace of economic recovery and job creation
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Encouraging
job-creating investment in America’s businesses by providing dividend
and capital gains tax relief and giving small businesses incentives to
grow
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Providing $20
billion in aid to States for necessary services
The President’s tax
relief will allow the American people to keep more of their own money to
spend, save and invest; encourage individuals and businesses to make new
investments that will lead to economic growth and job creation; and
deliver critical help to unemployed citizens.
Relief
for all Americans
Who benefits under
the President’s plan?
-
The Jobs and Growth
Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 will deliver substantial tax
relief to 91 million American taxpayers. Middle-income families will
receive additional relief from accelerated reduction of the marriage
penalty, a faster increase in the child tax credit, and immediate
implementation of the new, lower 10 percent tax bracket.
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Everyone who invests
in the stock market and receives dividend income—especially seniors—will
benefit from dividend tax relief. Half of all dividend income goes to
America’s seniors, who often rely on those checks for a steady source of
retirement income.
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Every small business
owner who purchases equipment to grow and expand will get assistance
through an increase in the expensing limits from $25,000 to $100,000.
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Unemployed workers
received an additional 13 week extension of their federal unemployment
benefits, allowing them the support they need while looking to rejoin
the workforce.
The Jobs and Growth
Act builds on the success of the President’s 2001 tax cut. The President
recognized that the time to deliver this relief is now – when it can do
the most good for families, businesses, and the economy – not years from
now.
Under the jobs and growth act, 91 million taxpayers will receive, on
average, a tax cut of $1,126 in 2003.
-
68 million women
will see their taxes decline, on average, by $1,338.
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34 million families
with children will benefit from an average tax cut of $1,549.
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23 million small
business owners will receive tax cuts averaging $2,209.
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12 million elderly
taxpayers will receive an average tax cut of $1,401.
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6 million single
women with children will receive an average tax cut of $558.
-
3 million
individuals and families will have their income tax liability completely
eliminated by the Act.
Helping
American Families
The President’s
plan helps working Americans by focusing tax relief directly at
moderate-income families and those with children. The plan:
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Accelerates marriage
penalty relief by increasing the standard deduction and expanding the
15-percent tax bracket for couples in 2003. An estimated 45 million
married couples will benefit from this provision;
-
Raises the child tax
credit from $600 to $1,000 per child this year, instead of in the year
2010. An estimated 34 million families with children will benefit from
this provision; and
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Moves several
million working Americans into the lower 10-percent tax bracket
immediately, allowing them to keep more of their income.
For example, a
married couple with two children and income of $40,000 will see their
taxes decline under the President’s jobs and growth law by $1,133 (from
$1,178 to $45) in 2003, a decline of 96 percent.
The
President's Plan to Strengthen Retirement Security
President Bush
believes that we need to explore new ways to ensure that Social Security
remains strong and financially secure for America’s children and
grandchildren. The President formed a bipartisan Presidential Commission
to review Social Security and recommend reforms to put the system on sound
financial ground. He has repeatedly stressed the need for modernization of
the Social Security System. President Bush has also proposed solutions to
strengthen pension plans and enhance retirement security for all
Americans.
The President’s
plan to strengthen retirement security includes:
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Creating a Society
of Stakeholders:
President Bush
supports the creation of Individual Development Accounts, providing
savings matches for low-income Americans to accounts that would grow
tax-free. The President’s Social Security framework would also give all
wage earners the opportunity to invest in financial assets, an
opportunity that only half of Americans can now afford.
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Expanding Ownership
of Retirement Assets:
The tax relief legislation signed into law by the President in 2001
provided almost $50 billion dollars of tax relief over the next ten
years to strengthen retirement security.
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Ensuring Freedom of
Choice:
The President’s
proposal would ensure that workers who have participated in 401(k) plans
for three years are given the freedom to choose where to invest their
retirement savings. The President has also proposed that choice be a
feature of Social Security itself, allowing individuals to voluntarily
invest a portion of their Social Security taxes in personal retirement
accounts.
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Minimizing Risk
through Diversification:
The President’s
proposals would ensure that workers can sell company stock and diversify
into other investment options, minimizing their risk.
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Strengthening
Women’s Retirement Security:
The President signed
into law legislation that would allow for “catch up” contributions to
retirement plans, helping millions of American women who took time out
from the work force to care for dependent family members. The
President’s Social Security Commission also made a number of
recommendations to vastly improve the treatment of women through Social
Security, including the creation of property rights in a personal
account for every woman who experiences a divorce, expanded benefits for
widows, and new “anti-poverty” benefit guarantees that would benefit
women.
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Helping Future
Generations Achieve the American Dream:
The President has
proposed extending Social Security to include inheritable assets. This
provision would assist communities where life expectancies are
unfortunately shorter than national averages, including African American
households.
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Spurring National
Saving and Economic Growth:
Tax relief legislation signed into law by the President will accelerate
economic growth by expanding national saving. The President’s Commission
to Strengthen Social Security has found that the President’s Social
Security initiative would “lead to increased national saving” in a way
that is necessary to foster long-term economic growth.
Encourage Job-Creating Investment in America’s Economy
The new jobs and
growth law encourages individuals and businesses to invest in America’s
economy.
Reduction in
Individual Tax Rates on Dividends and Capital Gains
-
Roughly 35 million
American households receive dividend income that is taxable and will
directly benefit under the President’s plan. More than half of these
dividends go to America’s seniors, many of whom rely on these checks for
a steady source of income in their retirement.
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Almost half of all
savings from the dividend tax cut under the President’s plan would go to
taxpayers 65 and older.
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The new law will
reduce dividend and capital gains taxes for millions of stockholders
–pumping billions into the economy this year alone. Twenty-six million
taxpayers with income from dividends and capital gains will receive an
average tax cut of $798.
Increase
Incentives for Small Businesses to Grow
-
Small businesses
create the majority of new jobs and account for half the output of the
economy. Their vitality is critical to America’s economic health and the
President’s plan provides important incentives for their economic
growth.
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Current tax laws
permit small business owners to write off as expenses up to $25,000
worth of equipment purchases. The President’s plan will increase that
limit to $100,000 and index it to inflation – encouraging them to buy
the technology, machinery, and other equipment they need to expand.
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If small business
owners invest more than $100,000, they qualify for a 50 percent bonus
depreciation that further reduces the cost of investment – encouraging
investment that grows businesses and creates jobs.
Turning
Recovery into Prosperity
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The President’s jobs
and growth law will provide $109 billion in tax relief this year alone.
It will spur real overall economic growth, yet it is disciplined and
tailored to address specific challenges.
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The American economy
is strong, but it must be stronger. The President’s plan is a focused
effort designed to remove the obstacles standing in the way of faster
growth and greater progress.
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President Bush will
not be satisfied until every American who wants a job can find one;
until every business has a chance to grow; and until we turn our
economic recovery into lasting prosperity that reaches every corner of
America.
Continuing Our Growth From Recession to Recovery
Since the beginning
of his Administration, President Bush has acted decisively to promote
economic growth and job creation.
In 2001, he fulfilled his promise to reduce the tax burden on the American
people. This tax relief gave the economy a boost at just the right
time—ensuring that the recession was one of the shortest and shallowest in
modern American history. These tax cuts worked, and the President will
continue to press Congress to make the cuts—including the end of the death
tax—permanent.
In 2002, the President proposed and signed into law an economic stimulus
bill, tough new corporate accountability standards, terrorism insurance
legislation to put construction projects back on track, and an historic
trade act.
In 2003, he signed
jobs and growth legislation and made clear that he will not stop working
for economic security until everyone who wants a job has one.
All of these
measures are helping our economy as it recovers from the shocks of
recession, the attacks of September 11th, and serious abuses of trust by
some corporate officials. President Bush will not be satisfied until every
American who wants a job can find one; until every business has a chance
to grow; and until we turn our economic recovery into lasting prosperity
that reaches every corner of America.
