CTJ May 26 Analysis of Final Bush Tax Plan

Citizens for Tax Justice , 202-626-3780 May 26, 2001

Final Version of Bush Tax Plan Keeps High-End Tax Cuts, Adds to Long-Term Cost

The tax plan approved by Congress on May 26, 2001 preserves the high-income tax cuts proposed by George W. Bush, but adds enough new tax breaks to make the final bill 20 percent more costly that the original Bush plan.

A distributional analysis released by Citizens for Tax Justice shows that when the tax plan is fully phased in:

*The typical tax cut for the median income taxpayer will be $600 a year.

*For the 78 million taxpayers in the lowest 60 percent of the income scale, the tax cut will average $347 a year.

*In contrast, at the top of the income scale the average tax cut will be $53,000 annually--virtually identical to the $54,000 annual tax cut proposed by the President.