Middle Class Tax Bill
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1. On behalf of an ORGANIZATION please sign me onto the letter telling Congress we need federal tax policies that work for families and help get our nation's finances in order!

On behalf of an ORGANIZATION please sign me onto the letter telling Congress we need federal tax policies that work for families and help get our nation's finances in order! Name
Title
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2. As an INDIVIDUAL, please sign me onto the letter telling Congress we need federal tax policies that work for families and help get our nation's finances in order!

As an INDIVIDUAL, please sign me onto the letter telling Congress we need federal tax policies that work for families and help get our nation's finances in order! Name
Address
City, State, Zip
E-Mail Address

*
3. Dear Senators Casey and Specter:

Pennsylvania school children have recently returned to the classroom. The start of a new school year is always accompanied by some anxiety. But this year, in the shadow of the Great Recession and stubbornly high unemployment, our children live in families that are more anxious and less
certain of what the future holds.

This past summer parents and caregivers struggled to find the resources necessary to keep a roof overhead, food on the table and even the routine health care visits their children need to go back in school.

Family budgets are stretched to the limits and children of all ages are feeling the pinch as family income is diminished by pink slips, reduced work hours, and the unrelenting basic costs of raising children.

Many students heading off to college this fall will not attend private or four-year universities but start their college careers living at home and attending community college. Younger children are doing without some of the smallest necessities of the new school year – backpacks, sneakers and other school supplies.

As an elected member of Congress you have an important role to play in reducing the worries of children and families by advancing national policies that keep parents working and to ensure that work pays by allowing low- and middle- income families to retain as much of their hard earned wages through well-targeted and fiscally responsible tax legislation.

We strongly urge you to support federal tax policies that promote work, help parents provide for their children, and build a solid foundation to help get our nation’s finances in order.

Specifically we urge you to act quickly to make the following tax cuts permanent for working families with low- and moderate-incomes as part of enacting a middle class tax bill:

* The Child Tax Credit, which was expanded as part of the economic recovery act benefitting 576,000 Pennsylvania children, to allow low-income working families to count more of their wages below $13,000 to calculate their credit. If this tax credit is reversed, a mom or dad working for the minimum wage raising two children would see her/his credit cut from $1,750 to $250.

* The EITC marriage penalty relief, which the economic recovery act expanded to reduce the financial penalty some couples face when they marry. About 5 million adults and 8 million children benefit from the change.

* The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which was increased under the economic recovery act for families with three children, benefiting over 3 million working families, including 319,000 children from Pennsylvania. Previously, a family with five children received the same credit as a family with two children despite the undeniable additional costs of supporting a larger family.

* The American Opportunity Tax Credit, which was made available to millions of low-and moderate- income students for the first time under the recovery act. The credit’s maximum value increased from $1,800 to $2,500.

* The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, which the President proposed to extend to more families in his FFY 2011 budget. For a family earning $50,000, the proposal would increase the maximum credit from $1,200 to $2,100.

Again, we urge extension of tax policies from 2001 and 2003 if they are targeted toward working families with low- and moderate- incomes, allowing cuts benefiting only higher income families to expire as scheduled without further modification.

Extending tax cuts for the top income earners for even one year postpones the opportunity to bring fairness to the tax code and increases the likelihood that they are eventually made permanent. The nearly $1 trillion cost (over ten years and with interest factored in) to retain the tax cuts for the top income earners would add to the long-term risks that growing deficits and debt pose to the economy, the chances of renewed employment and decreased investment in key federal investment

Dear Senators Casey and Specter: Pennsylvania school children have recently returned to the classroom. The start of a new school year is always accompanied by some anxiety. But this year, in the shadow of the Great Recession and stubbornly high unemployment, our children live in families that are more anxious and less certain of what the future holds. This past summer parents and caregivers struggled to find the resources necessary to keep a roof overhead, food on the table and even the routine health care visits their children need to go back in school. Family budgets are stretched to the limits and children of all ages are feeling the pinch as family income is diminished by pink slips, reduced work hours, and the unrelenting basic costs of raising children. Many students heading off to college this fall will not attend private or four-year universities but start their college careers living at home and attending community college. Younger children are doing without some of the smallest necessities of the new school year – backpacks, sneakers and other school supplies. As an elected member of Congress you have an important role to play in reducing the worries of children and families by advancing national policies that keep parents working and to ensure that work pays by allowing low- and middle- income families to retain as much of their hard earned wages through well-targeted and fiscally responsible tax legislation. We strongly urge you to support federal tax policies that promote work, help parents provide for their children, and build a solid foundation to help get our nation’s finances in order. Specifically we urge you to act quickly to make the following tax cuts permanent for working families with low- and moderate-incomes as part of enacting a middle class tax bill: * The Child Tax Credit, which was expanded as part of the economic recovery act benefitting 576,000 Pennsylvania children, to allow low-income working families to count more of their wages below $13,000 to calculate their credit. If this tax credit is reversed, a mom or dad working for the minimum wage raising two children would see her/his credit cut from $1,750 to $250. * The EITC marriage penalty relief, which the economic recovery act expanded to reduce the financial penalty some couples face when they marry. About 5 million adults and 8 million children benefit from the change. * The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which was increased under the economic recovery act for families with three children, benefiting over 3 million working families, including 319,000 children from Pennsylvania. Previously, a family with five children received the same credit as a family with two children despite the undeniable additional costs of supporting a larger family. * The American Opportunity Tax Credit, which was made available to millions of low-and moderate- income students for the first time under the recovery act. The credit’s maximum value increased from $1,800 to $2,500. * The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, which the President proposed to extend to more families in his FFY 2011 budget. For a family earning $50,000, the proposal would increase the maximum credit from $1,200 to $2,100. Again, we urge extension of tax policies from 2001 and 2003 if they are targeted toward working families with low- and moderate- incomes, allowing cuts benefiting only higher income families to expire as scheduled without further modification. Extending tax cuts for the top income earners for even one year postpones the opportunity to bring fairness to the tax code and increases the likelihood that they are eventually made permanent. The nearly $1 trillion cost (over ten years and with interest factored in) to retain the tax cuts for the top income earners would add to the long-term risks that growing deficits and debt pose to the economy, the chances of renewed employment and decreased investment in key federal investment Signed (Type your name here):

Middle Class Tax BillExit this survey

1. FMAP

1. On behalf of an ORGANIZATION please sign me onto the letter telling Congress we need federal tax policies that work for families and help get our nation's finances in order!

2. As an INDIVIDUAL, please sign me onto the letter telling Congress we need federal tax policies that work for families and help get our nation's finances in order!

Middle Class Tax Bill
Exit this survey