Family Tax Relief Act Unveiled in Albany

ALBANY- Senator Catharine Young (R-C-I, Olean) joined Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos and members of the Senate Republican Conference today to unveil the Family Tax Relief Act, a package of tax relief and reform measures designed to provide a major economic boost to New York’s struggling middle-class families.

The Senate Republican plan would increase tax breaks that have not kept pace with inflation, and, in some instances, haven’t been adjusted for more than 25 years. The plan also restores the STAR property tax rebate check program to provide real and direct relief to millions of New Yorkers who pay some of the highest property taxes in the country.

Senator Young said: "Families struggle to keep up, pay the monthly bills, and have enough left over to save for college. Parents go out each day, work hard, pick the kids up from daycare or school, and feel stressed and overburdened from suffocating taxes. Moms and dads need the government to stop reaching into their wallets so they can keep more of their hard-earned money. They want the freedom to spend their money the way that they see fit. The savings from this tax relief package can buy a lot of diapers and formula, help pay for the groceries, fill up the gas tank, and give a cushion so that families can afford to send their kids to college."

"I can speak to this issue as a working mother of three children. When my kids were little, it was hard to stretch a dollar to make ends meet. Being able to afford child care and sneakers was hard, and we had to eat a lot of macaroni and cheese, cut coupons, and find as many financial savings as we could. That's what families go through every day. The U.S. Labor Department estimated in 2010 that there are 72 million women who make up 47 percent of the country's total workforce. Women and men in New York want and need this tax relief so that it is more affordable to live, work and raise a family here," Senator Young said.

“Federal payroll taxes went up, paychecks got smaller, the cost of health care, gas and tuition have gone through the roof, and family budgets are squeezed even tighter,” Senator Skelos said. “Just when families find a way to make ends meet, somebody moves the ends.”

“Millions of middle-class families are finding it more difficult to maintain a decent standard of living and stay in New York,” Senator Skelos said. “The existing state tax breaks for middle class families have been significantly eroded by inflation. Our plan updates them to provide families with much-needed tax relief from income and property taxes.”

The Senate plan would: more than double the value of the Dependent Exemption; increase the Child Tax Credit and provide an additional $500 child tax credit; increase the value of the Dependent Care Credit; and restore STAR property tax rebate checks.

The current $1,000 value of the Dependent Exemption was last updated in 1987. At that time, gasoline was 89 cents-per-gallon and iPads and flat screen TVs didn’t exist. Since then, inflation has reduced the value of that exemption to essentially nothing. The value of similar family tax credits have also been eroded significantly and would be adjusted by the Senate Republican Family Tax Relief Plan.

For a family with an annual income of $55,000 and two children, the total increase in tax savings would be $1,036. A family making $100,000 a year with two children would have their tax savings increased by $812. A single parent with one child and an income of $45,000 per year would see an increased tax savings of $811 under the Senate plan.

The Senate Republican Family Tax Relief Act includes the following:

Increase Dependent Exemption

Increase the Dependent Exemption from $1,000 to $2,020 per dependent;
Allow a subtraction from gross income for each dependent the taxpayer claims;
Dependent Exemption last increased in 1987.

Increase Dependent Care Credit

The Dependent Care Credit, which is a percentage of the federal credit, allows taxpayers a tax credit for the expenses incurred for the care of a child;
Dependent Care Credit last increased in 1999;
Our plan will increase the percentage range of the federal child care credit that parents can receive, from 20 percent to 110 percent (depending on income), to 27 percent to 150 percent of the federal child care credit.

Increase Child Tax Credit

Increase the maximum Child Tax Credit from $330 to $375 to adjust for inflation;
Child Tax Credit last amended in 2006;
Our plan increases the Child Tax Credit from 33 percent of the federal child tax credit to 37.5 percent;
In New York State, married couples filing jointly with income less than $130,000 (federal), who have a child that is between the ages of 4 and 16, can receive the credit; Provide an additional $500 Child Tax Credit per family.

Restore STAR Property Tax Rebate Checks

Restore STAR Rebate Check Program to provide an estimated additional $1.3 billion in tax relief; this will provide real and direct relief to millions of people across the state, including seniors and middle class families.

Restoring STAR Rebate Checks would provide an additional total of approximately $1.3 billion in tax relief. The average statewide rebate check would be $445. The average enhanced STAR rebate check for seniors would be $460.

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