When Bush Sr. was trying to get reelected in 1992, he put through something that reduced everybody's withholding by about $25 a month. But there was no actual tax credit to go along with the reduction, so everyone was going to owe it back the following April. (I was handling payroll where I worked then and advised people to change their W-4's to maintain their existing withholding level so they wouldn't get stuck.)
Here's the announcement in Bush's 1992 SOTU. Notice the deliberately deceptive way he describes it -- as a voluntary way Americans who were being over-withheld could "choose" to reduce their withholding (which they could have done anyway) rather than an across-the-board change in the withholding tables that would result in most people owing money at the end of the year.
http://stateoftheunionaddress.org/category/george-hw-bushJanuary 28, 1992
Now to our troubles at home. They are not all economic, but the primary problem is our economy. There are some good signs. Inflation, that thief, is down, and interest rates are down. But unemployment is too high, some industries are in trouble and growth is not what it should be. Let me tell you right from the start and right from the heart: I know we’re in hard times, but I know something else: This will not stand. . . .
I have directed Cabinet departments and federal agencies to speed up pro-growth expenditures as quickly as possible. This should put an extra $10 billion into the economy in the next six months. And our new transportation bill provides more than $150 billion for construction and maintenance projects that are vital to our growth and well-being. That means jobs building roads, jobs building bridges and jobs building railways.
And I have this evening directed the secretary of the Treasury to change the federal tax withholding tables. With this change, millions of Americans from whom the government withholds more than necessary can now choose to have the government withhold less from their paychecks. Something tells me a number of taxpayers may take us up on this one. This initiative could return about $25 billion back into the economy over the next 12 months, money people can use to help pay for clothing, college or a new car.