Vast Majority of New Yorkers to Receive Tax Breaks

U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner wants everyone to know that there’s money coming down the line for the average New Yorker.
Vast Majority of New Yorkers to Receive Tax Breaks
Christine Lin
3/24/2009
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/weiner.jpg" alt="TAX BREAKS: U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner compares tax cuts under the Bush and Obama administrations. (Christine Lin/Epoch Times)" title="TAX BREAKS: U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner compares tax cuts under the Bush and Obama administrations. (Christine Lin/Epoch Times)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1819104"/></a>
TAX BREAKS: U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner compares tax cuts under the Bush and Obama administrations. (Christine Lin/Epoch Times)
NEW YORK—U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner wants everyone to know that there’s money coming down the line for the average New Yorker. Based on a study issued by Weiner’s office, 90 percent of New York taxpayers will qualify for a series of payroll tax breaks under President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package.

“I’ve been hearing a lot of people say, ‘When do I get my bailout?’” Weiner said. As a member of the House Commerce Committee, Weiner is trying to get the word out about how the economic recovery plan will benefit the common man. “We’re going to start seeing the benefit of the stimulus package,” he said.

For Taxpayers Under the “Making Work Pay” tax cut, families making less than $190,000 and individuals making less than $95,000 will receive an average tax cut of $509 for 2009 and 2010. Also, beginning on April 1, an average of $65 will be added to monthly paychecks throughout the year. The benefit of a payroll boost by paycheck is that it encourages continued spending. “We didn’t want it to be a lump sum [check] and be a tax cut for the Chinese,” adding that lump sum stimulus checks tend to be spent on consumer items such as flat screen TVs.

The 2009 Alternative Minimum Tax relief will provide tax savings of about $1,940 for 18,000 New Yorkers making between $50,500 and $196,000. Low- and middle-income families (those making less than $43,000) that have three or more children will receive an average of $503 from the Less Benefit from Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Expansion. EITC was raised to 45 percent from 40 percent of the family’s first $12,750 in income.

The expansion will benefit an additional 158,000 New York taxpayers in 2009, according to Weiner’s data. Obama’s tax cuts are vastly different from Bush’s tax cuts, the bulk of which benefitted a smaller and wealthier demographic. Retirees, the Disabled, and Unemployed Elderly, blind, or disabled New Yorkers currently receiving Social Security insurance benefits will get an extra payment of $250 beginning in May. This measure is expected to reach over 400,000 individuals. The same extra payment applies to retirees.

Those who take advantage of the Making Work Pay tax cut from a job will not qualify for the extra SSI payment. The unemployed will get a break from Federal taxes owed on their first $2,400 in unemployment payments. Weiner says the hope is that the extra savings families and individuals receive will encourage spending in the community.

For more details and to calculate the amount you and your family should expect to receive from the tax cuts, please visit the Internal Revenue Service’s website .
Christine Lin is an arts reporter for the Epoch Times. She can be found lurking in museum galleries and poking around in artists' studios when not at her desk writing.
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