Bush Trumpets Signing of Tax Cut Extensions; Lies about Kerry Tax position

The New York Times
October 3, 2004

Bush Trumpets Signing of Tax Cut Extensions
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 - One month before Election Day, President Bush sought Saturday to make sure that Americans knew he was signing into law a fourth tax cut in four years.

On Monday in Iowa, Mr. Bush will sign legislation extending three popular middle-class tax breaks and reviving some expired business tax incentives.

Ahead of that signing ceremony, he used his weekly radio address on Saturday to get maximum political mileage out of the cuts.

"This bipartisan law is good news for America's families," the president said. "It keeps in place major portions of the tax relief we passed over the last three years."

The tax package, which Congress passed last month, will affect an estimated 94 million Americans, mainly through its provision to extend a broader 10 percent tax bracket. It also keeps the per-child tax credit at $1,000 and retains the provisions providing married couples relief from the so-called marriage penalty.

The package extends the child credit for five years, the marriage penalty relief for four years and the expanded 10 percent bracket for six years. All were to have expired Jan. 1.

Mr. Bush revived a tactic from his 2000 campaign, when he regularly rolled out "tax families" to put a human face on his proposals. In the radio address, he cited a Springfield, Mo., family he said would benefit.

Mr. Bush said his Democratic challenger, Senator John Kerry, had opposed the tax cuts. In fact, Mr. Kerry agreed on the need to retain the personal income tax cuts.