Pence Touts 2-Month Tax Holiday

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana Republican Rep. Mike Pence is advocating a plan to create a tax holiday that would free the nation from income taxes for two months.

The plan, proposed by Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert, would use about half of the $700 billion bailout money to give taxpayers a big break in the first two months of 2009 in hopes of denting the economic crisis, 6News' Ericka Flye reported.

A tax holiday would give Americans more of their hard-earned money to spend, Pence said in a phone interview Tuesday.

"This would represent a real savings to Americans that they could count on," Pence said. "It would be money in the pocket of working Hoosiers and, in my judgment, it would be a much more effective way to stimulate economic growth than the spending or the bailouts and the borrowing."

Retailers are languishing amid uncertain economic footing during the downturn. While "Black Friday" browsing appeared to be up a bit this year in central Indiana, the jury is still out on whether retailers will thrive or even survive.

"I don't know if it'd really show up a whole lot in the everyday life, because when you think about how much comes out each month of your check, it's not a real huge amount," said shopper Paul Shields.

Under the plan, the remaining $350 billion of the $750 billion bailout would be used to give Americans a two-month break from personal income and FICA tax, but some shoppers said Tuesday night that they aren't sure if it would have the desired effect.

"I don't know. I guess I would like to see more details on how that really would impact us," said Annette Coulombe.

The proposal would require congressional approval, but Pence said he believes the plan is a refreshing alternative to bailouts that have done little to improve the economy.