President Signs Tax Cut Bill: Ford Approves Tax Cut Bill Despite 'Serious Drawbacks'
President Ford last night signed the $23.1 billion tax reduction bill during a broadcast speech, saying that ÛÏserious drawbacksÛ in the legislation were ÛÏoutweighed by the urgent necessity of an anti-recession tax reduction right now.Û</br></br>Under the new law, individuals will get tax cuts amounting to about $18,1 billion, including rebates of $100 to $200 on 1974 federal taxes that will be distributed within GO days.</br></br>The President indicated that he decided against a veto, which he had seriously considered, because even, if sustained, such action might bring a "worseÛ bill to his desk.</br></br>Mr. Ford declared that the $23,1 billion tax cut total represented ÛÏa reasonable compromiseÛ between the $16 billion he had originally requested and the $32 billion proposed by the Senate. But he insisted that ÛÏa lot of extraneous changes" had been introduced into the final bill in ÛÏa hectic last-minute ses- ÛÏThis is no way to legislate fundamental tax reforms, and every member of Congress knows it," Mr. Ford said. If he were still a</br></br>congressman, he said, he would have voted ÛÏto send this bill back to committee for further cleaning up.Û In a brief radio and TV speech to the nation explaining his decision, the President offered a new estimate of the budget deficit for fiscal 1976 of ÛÏapproximately $60 billion,Û based on the new tax bill. This is above his original projection of $51.9 billion, but far below recent Treasury estimates running around $80 billion, and a House Budget Committee estimate of $73.7 billion.