Sen. Jeff Bingaman & Tax Cuts for Low- and Middle Income Families

If you receive Sen. Jeff Bingaman's monthly newsletter by e-mail, you probably noticed that the latest issue deals a lot with tax breaks--and specifically those that were implemented as part of the economic stimulus package promoted by the Obama administration and approved by Congress.  

The tax breaks benefit a large segment of the population, but many are targeted to middle- and lower-income families and individuals.  They deal with renewable energy and efficiency, education and home purchases.  

Sen. Bingaman's newsletter points out specifically how all of these breaks help families in New Mexico.

I think it's great that Sen. Bingaman has chosen to put focus on tax breaks for low income families and the middle class as a vehicle for economic development.  That's exactly what our 2010 Offering of Letters is all about.  By expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Credit, many lower-income families would benefit greatly.  And in the process, we would be stimulating consumer spending, which helps the economy in the long run.

By the way, there is support from the administration for the EITC.  The White House Budget for 2011 contains an increase in funding for this tax break.

And even though Sen. Bingaman does not mention the EITC in his newsletter, he does allude to other helpful tax incentives.  Here are a couple of excerpts:

One of the most important tax cuts has been the Making Work Pay tax credit, which gave 95% of working Americans an automatic tax break on every paycheck last year by reducing the taxes they pay every month.  This cut has, on average, provided families with roughly $400 in tax breaks, and I hope this has helped them meet some part of their budgets.

Congress has also provided a variety of other tax cuts and credits, including a suspension of the federal income tax on the first $2,400 of unemployment benefits per recipient in taxable year 2009.  And to help spur a rebound in housing, Congress has created a refundable homebuyer tax credit equal to 10 percent of the purchase of a home (up to $7,500) by certain home buyers.  Congress also included an expansion of the child tax credit in last year’s ARRA, which will especially help lower-income New Mexican families provide for their children.

If you didn't receive the newsletter by e-mail, it is available on the senator's website.  Click here to read it.

With Sen. Bingaman on board with these types of tax cuts, perhaps we can convince him to support our efforts regarding the EITC and other tax incentives that will benefit lower income families.  

Thank you Sen. Bingaman.  And watch your mail box for our letters.