The fate of four federal tax breaks for low-income families — all set to expire Jan. 1 unless renewed by Congress — will ultimately be decided with November's presidential election.
If allowed to expire, that will mean tax bill increases for many poor families nationwide and in Louisiana, according to nonprofit Louisiana Budget Project.
The credits set to expire are the products of George W. Bush's Tax Relief Reconciliation Act and President Barack Obama's 2010 Tax Relief Act. They include The Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, Child and Dependent Care Credit and the American Opportunity Credit.
Roberton Wiliiams, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center, tells CNNMoney that failing to renew the credits will mean tax bill increases ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars, even for poor families.
"If you have what it takes to qualify for these particular benefits, you will get hit," says Williams.
According to CNNMoney, allowing all four of the credits to expire will mean:
Some families will take a hit on several fronts if they qualify for more than one tax break. A low-income couple with three kids, for example, will lose as much as $1,500 from expiring provisions of the Child Tax Credit. If their income is low enough, they could also see a smaller refund from the Earned Income Tax Credit, and benefits from the Child and Dependent Care Credit could be reduced as well.
As noted by CNNMoney, the fate of renewing these credits will hinge on re-electing Obama:
The upcoming presidential election has left the fate of these tax breaks uncertain. Democrats and Republicans in Congress continue to butt heads about which tax cuts should be extended, and there's virtually no chance they will agree on a specific plan before the November election, Williams said.
Even if an agreement is reached by the end of the year — which is far from a sure thing, either — next year's tax policy will ultimately depend on who takes over the Oval Office.
Click here for CNNMoney's breakdown on how low-income American families will be impacted by the expiration of each of the four credits.
JUNE 17 If anyone ever wonders why Saints fans hate Atlanta with a capital H, here's a good indication. Radio "professionals" at an Atlanta station created an entire segment around making fun of former Saints player Steve Gleason, who is now paralyzed by ALS. Listen, nobody's ever accused DJs of being rocket scientists. But how could someone think it is amusing to pretend to ask a man with a degenerative, fatal disease if he will be alive next week? The DJs have been fired, and are now whining about how gutless their former bosses are. Wow.
JUNE 18 Here's the latest from the Advocate on the fatal hit-and-run accident allegedly involving the president of the Livingston Parish School Board. He's accused by police of hitting a 21-year-old man on a highway early Sunday and driving away. The man died at a hospital later. On Monday, police seized the president's truck and towed it away. But he's available for board meetings: apparently a $500 bond is sufficient for this type of thing over in St. Helena Parish.
JUNE 18 Former broadcast journalist Griffin Scott has posted this plea on his blog for financial assistance from his readers. Scott, who says he was fired after he wrote something fairly innocuous (for Facebook) on his wall, is suing a media giant for his job back. He's framed himself as David going after a bloated media giant, and he's probably not far off.
JUNE 18 Here's a fairly absurd column posted on DIG Magazine about the completely absurd practice of naming killer storms. Tornadoes don't have names. Blizzards don't have names. But hurricanes do, and there's a big process to bestow them, Jacques Cormery writes. He's right about the crazy assemblage of names -- this year, there's everything from Tanya to Humberto -- and his idea that we don't waste good names on killer storms is a good one.
JUNE 17 Political columnist John Maginnis has some advice for Louisiana Republicans: grow up. After the schism that occurred in this past session - fiscal hawks teaming up with Democrats to spank the Republican "majority" and hand Gov. Jindal his, er, aspirations for continued solon control -- they need to figure out how to get along with each other, Maginnis writes.
JUNE 17 Here's the Picayune's obit story for Dorothy 'Miss Dot' Domilise, the lady who made poboys at the uptown restaurant that bears her name. Miss Dot moved to New Orleans during World War II, where she met and married her husband Sam. When she passed away Friday she was 90, and had spent more than 60 of those years working at the restaurant on Annunciation Street.
JUNE 17 This editorial in the Advocate speaks in favor of the consent decrees that have federal judges overseeing police operations and the sheriff's parish prison in New Orleans. Mayor Landrieu and Sheriff Gusman can't get along, so outside forces, like the Inspector General and the judges, are needed to make sure things run right, the editorial opines.
JUNE 18 Here's a post from Manny Schewitz on Forward Progressives that is good for a chuckle. Manny had an epiphany back in November, and is sharing it with us today: he believes that Fox "News" is killing the GOP by pandering to right wing nuts. Now, don't get it twisted: Manny's not broke up about it. He says he enjoys watching the downward spiral with a shot of whiskey and "a schadenfreude chaser."
Most Read
in case you missed it
Subscribe to this comment's feed
It doesn't matter for the low income earners who wins the election in this case. The Democrats will let the tax cuts expire, but also raise tax rates for the higher income earners, like when Clinton was in office!
The Republicans would like to lower income tax rates, remove tax deductions, and spread the base.
Walter, with the various deductions available to me as a small business owner, my effective tax rate is around 16%. If the Republicans get elected and do what Romney says he wants to do, I will be paying around 25%. If the Democrats get elected, I will be paying around 16-17%.
If the Democrats want to raise tax revenue and get a job, then they should vote Republican!