A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to provide for the withholding of tax on dividends and interest.
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Finance.
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require every person who pays interest (on savings accounts or other evidences of indebtedness) or a dividend to deduct and withhold on such interest or dividend a tax equal to 15 percent of the amount thereof. Specifies exceptions to such requirements. Allows any tax so withheld as a credit against the income tax. Exempts from such withholding requirements any interest or dividend paid to individuals and organizations possessing withholding exemption certificates because of limited or no tax liability. Holds any withholding agent required to deduct and withhold taxes liable for the payment of such taxes to the Internal Revenue Service, and to no one else. States that such taxes shall not be collected from a withholding agent if they are paid by the recipient of the income to be taxed, although such agent remains subject to penalties for failure to perform his duty. Excludes from gross income: (1) up to $100 of interest on personal savings; and (2) up to $200 (currently, $100) of any dividends received.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on July 24, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 24, 1979: Referred to Senate Committee on Finance.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
HENRY BELLMON (R-OK) introduced it on July 24, 1979. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 24, 1979, 17262 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17262 days ago, on July 24, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers