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American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 contains a number of tax breaks, which seem well intentioned, but none of the details I saw will have less than a token effect on one’s wallet.
A few highlights:
‘Making Work Pay’ Tax Credit. – For 2009 and 2010, the bill would provide a refundable tax credit of up to $400 for working individuals and $800 for working families (with incomes up to $150,000).
‘American Opportunity’ Education Tax Credit. – For 2009 and 2010, the bill would provide taxpayers with a new ‘American Opportunity’ tax credit of up to $2,500 of the cost of tuition and related expenses paid during the taxable year.
Computers as Qualified Education Expenses in 529 Education Plans. – The bill provides that computers and computer technology qualify as qualified education expenses.
Sales Tax Deduction for Vehicle Purchases. – The bill provides all taxpayers with a deduction for State and local sales and excise taxes paid on the purchase of new cars, light truck, recreational vehicles, and motorcycles through 2009.
Temporary Suspension of Taxation of Unemployment Benefits. – The proposal temporarily suspends federal income tax on the first $2,400 of unemployment benefits per recipient.
Extension of AMT Relief for 2009. – The bill would provide more than 26 million families with tax relief in 2009 by extending AMT relief for nonrefundable personal credits and increasing the AMT exemption amount to $70,950 for joint filers and $46,700 for individuals.
Joe

{ 1 comment… add one }
  • Augustine February 18, 2009, 3:30 pm

    As Bob Jindal, governor of LA, said, this bill throws a buck a day at workers at the same time as it puts a lien of almost $10000 on every family. So much for “change”… 😛

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