Tax Bill Questions

The new Individual Income Tax Bill is supposed to include an increase in the Standard Deduction from $6300 to $12,000. But is also includes the elimination of the Personal Exemption from $4050 to $0.

 

The Personal Exemption currently allows families to claim dependents as deductions. A family of 4 can deduct $4050 times 4 and claim a deduction of $16,200. If they add the current Standard Deduction the couple can each claim $6300 for a total of $12,600. If they add these together the current tax lets them deduct $28,800. 

 

The proposed tax allows them to deduct $24,000. If they have more than 2 dependents is gets worse, unless the Child Tax Credit actually replaces the loss of the Personal Exemption for all dependents at all income levels. Some dependents are disabled adults.

 

The bill also promises to increase the Child Tax credit, but this has been based on the wages earned by the filers, not total income.  The Child Tax credit is being pitched as a subsidy for daycare, but many couples have their grandparents do their daycare for free and do not use daycare centers.

 

There are also grandparents who actually support their single parent daughters and her children. These grandparents own their home and live on their Social Security checks. Unless their daughter claims “Head of Household”, the dependent deduction is applied to the grandparents’ taxes. But they are about to lose the Personal Exemption benefit.

 

Rubio’s Bad Judgement

 

Marco Rubio first revealed his bad judgement when he joined the “gang of 8” to propose amnesty as part of “immigration reform” years ago.

 

Now he is pushing for the expansion of the Child Tax Credit, but this is a program that has been fraught with fraud by illegal immigrants forever and it is unclear if it will benefit those grandparents who are supporting their children and grandchildren.

 

The media is not reporting on this potential problem in the Tax Bill.

 

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader