MEMO: Senator Stevens Record On Taxes - Leaving Alaska Families BehindMEMORANDUM TO: Reporters; interested parties Alaska families are struggling to get ahead while juggling the expenses of childcare, sending kids to college, and taking care of elderly parents. Middle class families are in a crunch balancing work and family and achieving their aspirations. However, Senator Ted Stevens has forgotten who he works for – Alaska families. Stevens votes for tax cuts for the wealthy, leaving Alaska’s middle class behind.
Stevens Has Repeatedly Vote For Tax Cuts That Disproportionately Help The Wealthy. On May 26, 2001, Sen. Ted Stevens voted for a conference report that enacted $1.35 trillion in tax cuts through 2011 that disproportionately benefited the wealthy. On May 23, 2003 Stevens voted on the conference report on the Jobs and Growth Tax Reconciliation Act of 2003 which disproportionately benefited the wealthy. [Roll Call Vote # 170, HR 1836, 5/26/2001; Roll Call Vote #196, H.R. 2, 5/23/2003]
Stevens Voted Against Tax Relief for Alaskan Families. In June 1997, Sen. Ted Stevens voted against the alternative amendment to the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 that would have provided: (1) a per-child credit against income taxes refundable against payroll taxes, and eligible, at the parent’s option, in a “Kid Save IRA”; (2) incentives for education and training; (3) tax relief for family savings and business capital formation; (4) estate tax relief for family businesses and farms; and (5) miscellaneous tax cuts, including 100 percent deductibility of self-employed health insurance premiums. [Vote #134, Amendment Rejected 38-61, 105th Congress, 1st Session, 6/26/97]
Alaska Families Have Felt The Pain…
The Wealthiest 1% Of Alaskans Were Projected To Receive 60% Of The Total Tax Benefits. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, it is projected that by 2009, Bush’s tax cuts for capital gains and dividends, which Sen. Ted Stevens voted for, will benefit the wealthiest 1 percent of Alaska residents, with an average income of $1,078,200. These few wealthy are projected to receive 59.4 percent of the tax cuts that go to Alaska, with an average tax cut of $16,838. [Alaska's Wealthiest 1% Receive Majority of Capital Gains and Dividends Tax Cuts, Citizens For Tax Justice, 5/13/2008] Meanwhile Average Alaskans Received Less Than 8% Of The Total Benefits. The poorest sixty percent of Alaska residents, with average incomes of $32,700, would get an average tax cut of just $36. That’s just 7.6 percent of the total tax cut going to Alaska. [Alaska's Wealthiest 1% Receive Majority of Capital Gains and Dividends Tax Cuts, Citizens For Tax Justice, 5/13/2008]
And The Longer Stevens Is In Washington, The Less Tax Relief Alaska Families Receive…
Nearly Half Of Alaskans Saw Less Than $100 Of Tax Relief From The 2003 Tax Bill. According to a report from Citizens for Tax Justice, the 2003 tax cuts left 43 percent of Alaskans with less than $100 in tax breaks. [CTJ Issue Brief: The Bush Tax Cuts In Alaska, Citizens for Tax Justice, 7/14/2008]
By 2006, More Than 80% Of Alaskans Saw Less Than $100 Of Tax Relief From The 2006 Tax Bill. According to Citizens for Tax Justice, by 2006, 241,000 Alaska taxpayers, or 82 percent state residents, will receive less than $100 in tax cuts as a result of the latest Bush tax cut. [CTJ Issue Brief: The Bush Tax Cuts In Alaska, Citizens for Tax Justice, 7/14/2008]
Then Stevens Places The Burden On Hard-Working Alaska Families…
Stevens Voted To Cut Taxes For Wealthy, Distribute Tax Burden On Alaskan Families. On May 11, 2006, Stevens voted in favor of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2006. The bill cut taxes primarily benefiting the wealthiest Americans but giving all taxpayers the burden to cover a new budget deficit in government spending [Roll Call 118, H.R. 4297, 5/11/2006; "The Republican Agenda for 2006: Tax Cuts for a Favored Few," The New York Times, 5/11/2006].
Ø Stevens‘ Tax Votes Left 99% Of Alaskans With A Net Income Loss. Bush’s tax cuts, which Sen. Ted Stevens continuously supported, gave 99 percent of Alaskans a tax break of $3,157 per person, but the same taxpayers have an added debt burden of $9,872 per person, leaving a net debt of $6,715 per person. The wealthiest 1 percent of Alaskans, who have an average income of $765,700, will pay $34,139 per person, but receive $51,130 per person in tax breaks. This leaves the wealthiest few with a net gain of $16,990 per person, while the rest of Alaskans pay the bill. [99% of Alaskans Are Net Losers Under Bush Tax and Spending Policies, Citizens for Tax Justice, 7/14/2008] |
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