How We Got Here

In 2003, Congress passed an important law - the Jobs and Growth Tax Reconciliation Act of 2003 - that temporarily and dramatically reduced the maximum tax rate on dividend income to 15 percent. Extended in 2006, the reduced tax rate is now scheduled to expire on December 31, 2010. One of the original goals of the 2003 law was to jump-start the economy and generate investment in the stock of American companies.

Now is not the time to raise taxes on middle-class Americans. But if Congress doesn't act soon, millions of seniors and working families will see their taxes on dividend income spike—more than double in some cases.

By not raising taxes and making the dividend tax rate reduction permanent, Congress can help spur job growth and investment for us all.