Speech #970053602

President. on April 15 millions of Americans completed their tax returns for 1980 and in the process paid an unprecedented amount of taxes. Hundreds of billions of dollars in income taxes have been paid into a tax system which is the largest in the world and which functions primarily upon the voluntary compliance of the American taxpayer. Unknown to most taxpayers. large numbers of illegal aliens also rushed to get their income tax return filed. However. a substantial number of illegal aliens who file income tax returns are using the earned income tax credit to either reduce their taxes or to receive a refund on taxes that were never paid. In 1975. Congress passed a tax bill which created a new concept in tax law: the earned income tax credit.