David Bonior on Tax Reform

Former Democratic Representative (MI-10)

Voted NO on $99 B economic stimulus: capital gains & income tax cuts.

Vote to pass a bill that would grant $99.5 billion in federal tax cuts in fiscal 2002, for businesses and individuals.

The bill would allow more individuals to receive immediate $300 refunds, and lower the capital gains tax rate from 20% to 18%.

Bill HR 3090 ; vote number 2001-404 on Oct 24, 2001

Voted NO on Tax cut package of $958 B over 10 years.

Vote to pass a bill that would cut all income tax rates and make other tax cuts of $958.2 billion over 10 years. The bill would convert the five existing tax rate brackets, which range from 15 to 39.6 percent, to a system of four brackets with rates of 10 to 33 percent. Reference: Bill sponsored by Thomas, R-CA; Bill HR 1836 ; vote number 2001-118 on May 16, 2001

Voted NO on eliminating the Estate Tax ("death tax").

Vote to pass a bill that would gradually reduce revenue by $185.5 billion over 10 years with a repeal of the estate tax by 2011. Reference: Bill sponsored by Dunn, R-WA; Bill HR 8 ; vote number 2001-84 on Apr 4, 2001

Voted NO on eliminating the "marriage penalty".

Vote on a bill that would reduce taxes for married couple by approximately $195 billion over 10 years by removing provisions that make taxes for married couples higher than those for two single people. The bill is identical to HR 6 that was passed by the House in February, 2000. Reference: Bill sponsored by Archer, R-TX; Bill HR 4810 ; vote number 2000-392 on Jul 12, 2000

Voted NO on $46 billion in tax cuts for small business.

Provide an estimated $46 billion in tax cuts over five years. Raise the minimum wage by $1 an hour over two years. Reduce estate and gift taxes, grant a full deduction on health insurance for self-employed individuals, increase the deductible percentage of business meal expenses to 60 percent in 2002, and designate 15 renewal communities in urban rural areas. Reference: Bill sponsored by Lazio, R-NY; Bill HR 3081 ; vote number 2000-41 on Mar 9, 2000

American People's Dividend: Give $300 to every person.

Bonior adopted the Progressive Caucus Position Paper:

The Problem

President Bush argues that upper income people pay a larger share of the taxes, therefore they should get a larger tax cut. We disagree. These people have significantly benefited from the economic boom of the 1990s, while those in the bottom range of incomes have received little benefit. It’s these folks that we must help. President Bush’s plan is “Reaganomics” revisited and it’s fiscally irresponsible. Despite spending $1.6 trillion or more, the President’s tax plan gives little to nothing for those with little income. In fact, anyone below 140% of the poverty line, will get a zero tax cut.

The Solution

The Progressive Caucus believes that tax relief must flow to those who need it the most, the working class and people with limited incomes. We have endorsed an idea called the American People’s Dividend. We’ll give a dividend to every American, because every American is an equal shareholder in America. We estimate the total cost to be about $900 billion over 10 years. The plan will give to every person about a $300 refundable tax credit. A married couple with 3 children will receive $1500, $300 for each member of the family. This plan is simple, easy to administer, and progressive. The plan could provide an economic stimulus since it would put money in people’s pockets immediately. Unlike the Bush proposal, which reserves 40% of the tax benefits for the wealthiest 1% of the population, our proposal gives the wealthiest 1% exactly 1% of the tax relief. This makes the bulk of tax relief available for the bulk of the population. The American People’s Dividend is payable every year the federal budget is in surplus.

Comparison of Progressive Tax Plan & Bush’s Plan
	The Wealthy	The Low Income
Progressive Caucus American Peoples Dividend	$300	$300
President Bush’s Tax Cuts	$$46,000	$0

Source: Progressive Caucus Press Release, "Tax Relief" 01-CPC2 on Feb 8, 2001

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*2010 Governor, House and Senate candidates on Tax Reform:*			*David Bonior on other issues:*
*MI Gubernatorial:* Rick Snyder *MI Senatorial:* Carl Levin Debbie Stabenow Dem. Freshmen in 112th Congress: AL-7:Terri Sewell CA-33:Karen Bass DE-0:John Carney FL-17:Frederica Wilson HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa LA-2:Cedric Richmond MA-10:Bill Keating MI-13:Hansen Clarke RI-1:David Cicilline	GOP Freshmen in 112th Congress: AL-2:Martha Roby AL-5:Mo Brooks AZ-1:Paul Gosar AZ-3:Ben Quayle AZ-5:David Schweikert AR-1:Rick Crawford AR-2:Tim Griffin AR-3:Steve Womack CA-19:Jeff Denham CO-3:Scott Tipton CO-4:Cory Gardner FL-12:Dennis Ross FL-2:Steve Southerland FL-21:Mario Diaz-Balart FL-22:Allen West FL-24:Sandy Adams FL-25:David Rivera FL-5:Rich Nugent FL-8:Dan Webster GA-2:Mike Keown GA-7:Rob Woodall GA-8:Austin Scott ID-1:Raul Labrador IL-8:Joe Walsh IL-10:Bob Dold IL-11:Adam Kinzinger IL-14:Randy Hultgren IL-17:Bobby Schilling IL-8:Joe Walsh IN-3:Marlin Stutzman IN-4:Todd Rokita IN-8:Larry Bucshon IN-9:Todd Young KS-1:Tim Huelskamp KS-3:Kevin Yoder KS-5:Mike Pompeo LA-3:Jeff Landry MD-1:Andy Harris MI-1:Dan Benishek MI-2:Bill Huizenga MI-3:Justin Amash MI-7:Tim Walberg MN-8:Chip Cravaack MO-4:Vicky Hartzler MO-7:Billy Long MS-1:Alan Nunnelee MS-4:Steven Palazzo	GOP Freshmen in 111th Congress: NC-2:Renee Ellmers ND-0:Rick Berg NH-2:Charlie Bass NH-1:Frank Guinta NJ-3:Jon Runyan NM-2:Steve Pearce NV-3:Joe Heck NY-13:Michael Grimm NY-19:Nan Hayworth NY-20:Chris Gibson NY-24:Richard Hanna NY-25:Ann Marie Buerkle NY-29:Tom Reed OH-1:Steve Chabot OH-15:Steve Stivers OH-16:Jim Renacci OH-18:Bob Gibbs OH-6:Bill Johnson OK-5:James Lankford PA-10:Tom Marino PA-11:Lou Barletta PA-3:Mike Kelly PA-7:Patrick Meehan PA-8:Mike Fitzpatrick SC-1:Tim Scott SC-3:Jeff Duncan SC-4:Trey Gowdy SC-5:Mick Mulvaney SD-0:Kristi Noem TN-3:Chuck Fleischmann TN-4:Scott DesJarlais TN-6:Diane Black TN-8:Stephen Fincher TX-17:Bill Flores TX-23:Quico Canseco TX-27:Blake Farenthold VA-2:Scott Rigell VA-5:Robert Hurt VA-9:Morgan Griffith WA-3:Jaime Herrera WI-7:Sean Duffy WI-8:Reid Ribble WV-1:David McKinley	Abortion Budget/Economy Civil Rights Corporations Crime Drugs Education Energy/Oil Environment Families/Children Foreign Policy Free Trade Govt. Reform Gun Control Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Infrastructure/Technology Jobs Principles/Values Social Security Tax Reform War/Iraq/Mideast Welfare/Poverty Main Page Profile MI politicians [Title9]

Page last updated: Mar 08, 2011