HSLDA Media Release	February 16, 2001

Marriage Penalty Relief Press Conference Statement
Caleb Kershner, Manager, Federal Research and Policy

Good morning! My name is Caleb Kershner and standing next to me is my fiancée, and as she informed on the way here this morning, my valentine, Erin Smith. We are both here today to urge Congress to eliminate the Marriage Tax Penalty.

Erin and I will be married this year on May 19. Weddings are supposed to be happy occasions—a time of joy and celebration. I trust ours will be, with one exception, the looming increased tax burden that we will face following our happy union. With our combined income as a married couple we will pay $1,125 more in federal income taxes than if we chose to remain single.

• This is income that we could use for:
  

• Paying off our student loans.
  

• Paying tuition for continued, and graduate education
  

• Placing that important down payment on our first home together, and allowing us to make the American dream of personal property ownership a reality.
  

• Defraying those weakly and monthly bills that confront all American families like us.
  

• Enabling us to save for a rainy day.
  

• Increasing the quality of life for any children we may be blessed with:
  

• Or allowing us to save for retirement.
  

Such a tax on marriage is wrong. It is unfair to the working family of America. It discourages the very institution of marriage and the family that has been the bedrock of this great country. Our government should encourage and support marriage: not discourage it.

Congress should eliminate the marriage tax penalty and replace it with a fair and equitable tax policy so thousands of other couples like Erin and me are not penalized simply for being married.

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