Romney Leads Letter Opposing ‘Harmful Marriage Penalties’ in Reconciliation Bill

 Led by Utah senator Mitt Romney, a group of 33 GOP senators from across the ideological spectrum sent a letter on Thursday to Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Finance Committee chairman Ron Wyden opposing “harmful marriage penalties” in the congressional Democrats’ reconciliation bill.

“As you know, current marriage penalties occur when a household’s overall tax bill increases due to a couple marrying and filing taxes jointly,” the senators write in their letter. “Unfortunately, despite its original rollout as part of the ‘American Families Plan,’ the current draft of the reconciliation bill takes an existing marriage penalty in the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and makes it significantly worse. This is not the only marriage penalty created or worsened by the partisan bill.”

“For example, a couple in 2019 with two children where one parent earns $12,000 and the other $30,000 could pay $1,578 more in taxes if they are married—or nearly 4% of their yearly earnings. The reconciliation bill makes the same family significantly worse off. It could nearly double the marriage penalty, costing the same parents $2,713 if they choose to marry.”