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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 4, 2004

Tax Relief Fact Sheet
Fact Sheet: President Bush Signs Tax Relief Bill Benefiting Millions of American Families

Today's Presidential Action

President Bush today signed into law H.R. 1308, the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004, which extends key parts of his tax relief plan set to expire next year . Due to the President's actions today, a family of four with an income of $40,000 will save more than $900 on their taxes next year. Overall, 94 million Americans will have a lower tax bill next year, including 70 million women and 38 million families with children. This legislation:

Extends the full marriage penalty relief to couples who are unfairly taxed just because they are married;
Lessens the tax burden of lower-income Americans by ensuring the full benefits of the 10% percent tax bracket;
Helps working moms and dads by ensuring that the full $1,000 per child tax credit is available through 2010;
Supports military men and women living in combat zones by providing nearly $200 million of assistance in the form of higher child credit refunds and earned income tax credits;
Protects middle-class taxpayers from the Alternative Minimum Tax by exempting from it the first $58,000 of a married couple's income. Without this AMT relief, taxpayers would be saddled with an extra $23 billion AMT levy through 2005; and
S implifies the tax code for families who qualify for the child tax credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, the dependent care credit, the dependent exemption for children, and those who file as the head-of-household.

If Congress had not acted when it did, failure to extend these tax cuts permanently would have raised taxes on American taxpayers in future years:

In 2005, the $1,000 child credit would have fallen to $700;
A family of four earning $40,000 would have seen their tax burden increase by $913 next year; and
In 2005, 94 million taxpayers would have faced, on average, a tax increase of $538;