President George W. Bush fulfilled a campaign promise to revisit the Iowa farm where he said he’d eliminate the estate tax.

“The bill I signed yesterday recognizes that when you tax a person’s asset twice, it’s unfair,” Bush said.

Bush came to the farm of Tom and Judy Barrett to talk about what he calls the “fair” income-tax relief plan.

“This tax legislation is good for the country. It’s good for the economy. And, as importantly, it embodies a principle that is embedded in my political soul,” Bush said at Friday’s speech near Waukee. “And it says that our government, at all times ought to trust the people, that we ought to trust the people of this country.”

He said people will begin receiving their refund checks this summer.

“Tax relief is going to be evident pretty quickly, by the way, when married couples start getting a $600 check this summer,” Bush said. “Single head of the household, a $500 check. Single folks, a $300 check, followed by reduction of rate.”

The Treasury Department will be issuing rebate checks to taxpayers to remit any excess taxes that have been withheld on their 10 percent earnings earlier this year.

Bush said raising the child credit from $500 to $1000 per child was a proud accomplishment.

“We said if you are struggling to get ahead, that we ought to provide tax relief and if you are raising kids, we recognized that in tax relief,” Bush said.

He said if Iowans would have seen Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, like he saw him they would be extremely proud of his accomplishment. Grassley chaired the Senate Committee on Finance, which was in charge of delivering the tax bill to the entire Senate.

“This was a monumental legislative achievement, because the Chairman from the great state of Iowa worked diligently on behalf of the American people,” Bush said.

“This happened because Chairman Grassley made it happen and I am so grateful to him.”

Grassley, who also spoke at the farm, said this was the biggest tax reduction in 20 years and people would not have to worry about what he called the “death tax” any longer.

Bush said the tax plan, which was signed by 12 Democratic Senators, is also important because it is changing the tone in Washington. He said in the past he noticed a lot of unnecessary “bickering” and “shrillness” in Washington, which is starting to come to an end.

Bush said he is looking forward to tackling the issues of education with Congress in the near future.