Editing Newt Gingrich (section)

==== Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 ====
In 1997, President Clinton signed into effect the [[Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997]], which included the largest [[Capital gains tax in the United States|capital gains tax]] cut in U.S. history. Under the act, the profits on the sale of a personal residence ($500,000 for married couples, $250,000 for singles) were exempted if lived in for at least two of the previous five years. (This had previously been limited to a $125,000 once-in-a-lifetime exemption for those over the age of 55.)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filetax.com/97taxact.html#home |title=Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 |publisher=Filetax.com |access-date=May 12, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080712205931/http://www.filetax.com/97taxact.html |archive-date=July 12, 2008 }}</ref> There were also reductions in a number of other taxes on investment gains.<ref>{{cite news|title=Reaganomics: What We Learned|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704364004576132473777840938|first=Arthur B.|last=Laffer|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=February 10, 2011|access-date=August 8, 2017|archive-date=August 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827125915/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704364004576132473777840938|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=FindLaw>{{cite web|title=The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997: An Overview of Selected Provisions|url=http://library.findlaw.com/1997/Jan/1/126242.html|author1=Buchanan Ingersoll|author2=Rooney PC|name-list-style=amp|work=FindLaw|access-date=May 5, 2011|archive-date=April 25, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425045452/http://library.findlaw.com/1997/Jan/1/126242.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Additionally, the act raised the value of inherited [[Estate (law)|estates]] and gifts that could be sheltered from taxation.<ref name=FindLaw /> Gingrich has been credited with creating the agenda for the reduction in capital gains tax, especially in the Contract with America, which set out to balance the budget and implement decreases in estate and capital gains tax. Some Republicans felt that the compromise reached with Clinton on the budget and tax act was inadequate;<ref>{{cite news |title=Like him or not, Gingrich deserves credit for budget |first=John |last=Farmer |newspaper=The Star-Ledger |location=Newark, New Jersey |date=August 4, 1997}}</ref> however, Gingrich stated that the tax cuts were a significant accomplishment for the Republican Congress in the face of opposition from the Clinton administration.<ref>{{cite news |title=Gingrich sees life in GOP revolution|first=John|last=Marelius|newspaper=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]]|date=August 19, 1997}}</ref> Gingrich along with [[Bob Dole]] had earlier set-up the [[Kemp Commission]], headed by former US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development [[Jack Kemp]], a tax reform commission that made several recommendations including that dividends, interest, and capital gains should be untaxed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1042061 |title=Kemp Commission |publisher=Npr.org |date=January 17, 1996 |access-date=January 26, 2012 |archive-date=June 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120618104408/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1042061 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=two>{{cite report |url=http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/articles/1996/0205taxes_gale/19960205.pdf |title=The Kemp Commission and the Future of Tax Reform |first=William |last=Gale |publisher=[[Brookings Institution]] |date=February 5, 1996|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103100614/http://www3.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/articles/1996/0205taxes_gale/19960205.pdf |archive-date=November 3, 2007}}</ref>