FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

October 4, 2004
JS-1990

Treasury Secretary John Snow Statement:
President Bush Signs The “Working Families Tax Relief Act Of 2004” & Keeps The Economic Recovery On Track

Today, President Bush signed the "Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004" into law. Because of the President's leadership, this historic tax relief will keep our economic recovery on track and prevent a tax increase on 94 million Americans. Some of the biggest winners today are the lower and middle income families who benefit from the lowest 10% bracket, the increased child credit, marriage penalty relief and alternative tax relief (AMT). These provisions, enacted in the Jobs & Growth Tax Relief Act of 2003, would have expired at the end of the year.

This legislation also provides assistance to those who are bearing the greatest burden and paying the highest sacrifice to wage the war against terrorism: our military personnel and their families.  Allowing military families to include tax-free combat pay when calculating their refundable child credit and earned income tax credit will, in many instances, increase the credits to which they are entitled. 

The "Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004" includes an important provision similar to the Administration's proposal to create a uniform definition of a child for tax purposes.  This provision helps realize the President's overall goal of simplifying the Tax Code by creating one definition for the dependent exemption, head-of-household filing status, Earned Income Tax Credit, child credit, and dependent care tax credit.  This uniform definition will make it easier for families to claim the different tax benefits and will help reduce errors.

Finally, this legislation extends many of the annual expiring tax provisions that are included in the President's budget request and that are beneficial to many of our nation's businesses and individuals.  The Research and Development tax credit, in particular, is vital to encouraging the technological innovation important to our continued economic growth.

I applaud the swift Congressional action to pass this legislation. The President's signature today completes the job, extending provisions that will help our economy to continue expanding and creating jobs.

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