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| The President's Budget & Massachusetts | |
The President’s Budget funds America’s priorities, provides the largest debt reduction in history and provides fair and responsible tax relief. In Massachusetts, the budget:
Benefits an estimated 427,000 Massachusetts small businesses and entrepreneurs by reducing marginal tax rates and making the Research & Development tax credit permanent.
Provides tax relief for roughly 2.5 million Massachusetts citizens who pay taxes.
Provides relief for an estimated 1.1 million Massachusetts married couples by reducing the Marriage Penalty.
Provides relief for an estimated 537,000 Massachusetts families by doubling the Child Tax Credit.
Fully funds the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve to help protect Massachusetts’ families against fuel shortages and price hikes.
Increases Massachusetts’ education funding over current levels to more than $846 million to give local schools more tools to ensure that no child is left behind.
Increases Massachusetts’ Head Start funding over current levels to more than $101 million to better prepare Massachusetts’ children for success in school.
Increases funding to more than $938 million in housing assistance and services for low-income Massachusetts citizens.
Provides more than $45.8 million in funding for water resource projects along Massachusetts’ rivers and waterways.
Provides more than $88 million to fund Massachusetts environmental protection efforts.
Provides nearly $7.5 million to help conserve Massachusetts’ natural resources – a 269% increase over current levels just for Massachusetts.
Provides an estimated $533 million in highway funding for Massachusetts.
Provides $391 million for programs and grants to help local fire departments and emergency services in Massachusetts and all across America with training, equipment, and fire fighting and lifesaving efforts.
Provides a $5.6 billion National Emergency Reserve to aid Massachusetts and other states struck by disasters.
Increases Massachusetts’ funding over current levels to more than $23 million to help more Massachusetts children awaiting adoption find loving homes faster.
The President’s Budget Funds Important Priorities for Massachusetts:
Improving Education. Provides the Education Department with the largest percentage spending increase of any federal department (11.5% or $4.6 billion) and triples funding for children’s reading programs.
Protecting Social Security. Locks away every penny of the $2.6 trillion Social Security surplus for Social Security.
Preserving Medicare. Spends every dime of Medicare receipts over the next 10 years only for Medicare, increases funding over the next year by $21 billion, and modernizes Medicare with an integrated prescription drug benefit.
Strengthening Defense. Improves quality of life of our troops and their families and begins the transition to a 21st century force.
Improving Healthcare. Doubles funding for NIH medical research on important health issues like cancer, the largest funding increase in NIH history. Creates more than 1,200 new community health centers nationwide to make health care more accessible.
Protecting the Environment. Fully funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund – a $900 million commitment, with nearly $ 7.5 million targeted for Massachusetts’ conservation efforts; gives the EPA the second highest operating budget ever -- $3.7 billion, with more than $88 million targeted for Massachusetts’ environmental efforts; and increases funding for the EPA $56 million above the amount requested by President Clinton.
Massachusetts Will Benefit from the President’s Historic Debt Reduction:
The President’s Budget provides the fastest, largest debt reduction in history and reduces the debt to its lowest share of the economy since World War I, which will benefit Massachusetts citizens in many important ways.
Fair and Responsible Tax Relief for all Massachusetts Taxpayers:
Provides the typical family of four in Massachusetts paying income taxes $1,600 in tax relief.
An estimated 2.5 million Massachusetts taxpayers stand to benefit by the new, lowered rate structure.
An estimated 427,000 Massachusetts small businesses and entrepreneurs stand to benefit from the tax cut.
1 in 5 taxpaying families with children will no longer pay any income tax at all – completely removing 6 million American families from the tax rolls.
A family of four in Massachusetts making $35,000 a year will receive a 100% federal income tax cut.
A family of four in Massachusetts making $50,000 a year will receive a 50% tax cut – receiving at least $1,600.
A family of four in Massachusetts making $75,000 a year will receive a 25% tax cut.
The marginal income tax rate on low-income families will fall by more than 40%.