Carole Matthews

Bush Signs Tax-Cut Bill

 

Oct. 4, 2004-- President Bush signed his fourth tax-cut bill in as many years during a signing ceremony at a Des Moines, Iowa, YMCA today.

The bill, which Congress passed in September, keeps the per-child tax credit at $1,000 for the next five years, extends the expanded 10% tax bracket for six years, and offers married couples relief from the marriage penality for four more years. Also part of the tax package are 23 tax breaks for businesses that were set to expire. Among the breaks, worth approximately $12.97 billion, are a research and development tax credit, credits towards alternative energy production, and additional support for the continued economic recovery of lower Manhattan.

The tax relief is expected to cost the government $131.4 billion in revenue over the next decade and would affect an estimated 94 million Americans.