House Votes to Keep Tax Credit for Children(w/deduct for 300K folks:=$569B

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43547-2004May20.html

House Votes to Keep Tax Credit for Children(w/deduct for 300K folks:cost=$569B)
Higher-Income Families Would Be Eligible

By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 21, 2004; Page A03


The House voted yesterday to permanently extend the $1,000-per-child tax credit and to broaden eligibility for the politically popular credit to families with incomes as much as $300,000. Lawmakers rejected Democratic calls to offset the $228 billion cost of the measure with tax hikes on the rich.

The 271 to 139 vote marked House passage of the fourth tax cut in as many weeks, as House GOP leaders wrapped up their push to ensure that none of the temporary tax cuts passed in 2003 will expire at the end of this year. But the 10-year cost to the Treasury of the four measures has reached $569 billion, making passage of such comprehensive legislation doubtful in the more deficit-conscious Senate.

Instead, Senate leaders may push bills to extend the same tax cuts for five years at most, and possibly just one year, a Senate Republican leadership aide said last night.

The House measure approved yesterday would make permanent the $1,000 child credit that President Bush secured in 2001. That 2001 legislation would have slowly doubled an existing $500 credit through 2010. Last year, Congress raised the credit to $1,000 immediately, but only through 2004. Without congressional action this year, the credit would drop to $700 in 2005, effectively raising taxes on 30 million families.

But the House took an additional step, expanding eligibility significantly. Currently, married couples with incomes up to $110,000 receive the full credit, and couples with incomes up to $149,000 receive at least a partial credit. The House bill raises the threshold for full eligibility to $250,000. A married couple with three children would receive at least a partial credit until the household income reached $309,000.<snip>

Wouldn't bother me to see most of the other cuts go away, but this one helps us a LOT.


Don't see why it needs to be expanded up to 300k. Sure, they have children too, but most financial strain caused by the children is self-imposed.

that is your criteria for supporting tax cuts?

Yes, people support tax cuts that benefit them personally.

I think we have a pretty "average" family and that the struggles we go through financially raising our kids are not uncommon. If you think "I'm like most people" then it isn't unreasonable to look for policies that benefit "most people" even if that seems to selfishly include yourself.

As originally designed (capping at a reasonalbe $150k) this cut (along with the reduction in the minimum bracket) are the ones that cannot be spun as "for the rich". And if Kerry want to avoid an election problem he'll rush right home to vote for it. (Actually, I suspect that's why they jacked it up to 300k. They want him to vote against it to gain the issue).

Folks,

Think for a second here.

How much is letting people in the 150k to 300k bracket have this tax cut costing us?

Answer, not much at all because there are far far fewer people in that range than below that range (and they have fewer kids to boot.) This is NOT a significant source of fiscal irresponsibility.

Let this one go, and fight the bigger battles.

Those people don't need the tax cut.