Recent Tax Relief Efforts

On December 20, 2006, Congress signed in a bill offering tax relief for certain individual. Called the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, it was signed late in the year and went into effect in 2007. The biggest change was the allowing of individuals to claim either sales tax or local and state taxes as a deduction. A few points in the bill aimed to help subsidize education. Higher education tuitions and fees were made deductible. More significantly, deductions were made available for teacher's out-of-pocket expenses for classroom supplies. Teachers are allowed to claim expenses up to $250 per year. These deductions apply only to elementary and secondary teachers. The research and development corporate tax credit was revised to reflect changes in technology. The bill also established the foundation for the Health Saving Account (HAS) program for all Americans. The program will allow citizens to invest money into non-taxable savings accounts that are earmarked for health care. Deductions for HSA's can reach up to $2,850 per year. The bill is a sweeping effort to help relieve the tax burden on millions of Americans.

Bush Signs Corporate Tax Relief

A bill was signed into law on October 22, 2004 to increase tax relief for corporations. Signed by President George W. Bush with little announcement, it was the biggest tax revision passed during his administration. It itemized $136 million in new tax breaks, mostly for businesses. Critics claimed that the bill rewarded multi-national corporations that moved overseas. Bush responded, saying the bill would save manufactures at least $77 billion over ten years. It provided many deductions for food producers and top corporations. Unfortunately, it also came coupled with $136 million in tax increases keep the federal deficit from rising. Democrats accused proponents of the bill of creative accounting to hide the actual eighty-billion dollar cost. The bill was originally created to repeal an illegal (according to the UN) five-billion dollar tax break for American exporters. It grew during the legislative process and became one of the largest-in-scope tax reforms ever passed.

Telephone Tax Relief

The Telephone Tax Relief for Seniors Act was introduced on the floor of congress by Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) on October 6^th, 2004. It sought to provide seniors tax relief on their phone bill. Nadler's rationale was that senior citizens need phones the most due to health and mobility issues, but they tended to use the phone the least. The act would cover all federal taxes and federally mandated taxes on all phone service. Seniors would have to be over sixty-five and living at or below 200% of the poverty line. Seniors would prove their eligibility through the FCC, who would then notify the phone companies to stop them from being taxed. The act would have helped 13.4 million seniors had it passed. On May 25^th, 2006 a bill passed that eliminated the long-distance luxury tax that had been in place since 1898 easing the burdens on many seniors.