House Passes Tax Breaks for Hurricane Katrina Victims (what a joke)

[Digit]

Wednesday, September 21, 2005
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House approved a $6.1 billion package of tax breaks Wednesday to help families recover from Hurricane Katrina and to encourage Gulf Coast businesses to reopen their doors, or at least keep employees on the payroll.

The vote sent the bill to the Senate, where lawmakers hoped to quickly give their final approval. The package offers tax assistance to people and businesses dislocated by Hurricane Katrina and EXPANDED TAX BREAKS FOR SOME CHARITABLE DONATIONS TO HELP THEM.

The tax breaks passed Wednesday waive penalties for hurricane victims who need cash for expenses and recovery and want to use money stashed in protected retirement accounts like IRAs. The Treasury Department had already ruled the storm qualified as a hardship and permitted early withdrawals of retirement funds.

Also under the bill, families that rely on the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit could protect those benefits throughout job losses, residency changes and family separations caused by Hurricane Katrina. Those disruptions could mean that some would not qualify for the family tax breaks this year, but the bill lets taxpayers use 2004 information to calculate the credits.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/21/katrina.taxes.ap/index.html
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It was further recommended that the Katrina survivors consult with their FINANCIAL PLANNERS for more details!

They really don’t have a clue, do they? Tax breaks for those who are ELIGIBLE for tax breaks....REDUCED WAGES for the people who are truly struggling to survive.

Damn, they won’t even afford the deceased some dignity by picking them off of the streets.