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FEBRUARY 6, 2001

President George W. Bush on Monday unveiled his $1.6 trillion tax plan on Monday and said it will provide "tax relief for everybody."

But a Washington Post analysis says the tax plan will only benefit wealthier Americans. Bush's plan doesn't affect payroll taxes leading one tax scholar to call it a "bait-and-switch" and Senate Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) to criticize it.

"If you make over $300,000 a year, this tax cut means you get to buy a new Lexus," Daschle said. "If you make $50,000 a year, you get to buy a muffler on your used car."

The plan calls for a rate reduction across almost all tax brackets. It cuts the 39.6 percent and 36 percent brackets to 33 percent, the 31 percent and 28 percent brackets to 25 percent, leaves the 15 percent bracket unchanged, and creates a 10 percent bracket for income below $6,000 for singles and $12,000 for couples.

It would be applied retroactively to January 1.

Get the Story:
Bush Wants Taxes Cut Retroactively (The Washington Post 2/6)
Payroll Tax: The Burden Untouched (The Washington Post 2/6)