While April is a beautiful time of year here at home in North Carolina, it also brings the dreaded tax season.

I understand the burdens taxes can put on our hard-working families, and I want to let you know I kept that in mind while working in Washington. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, we were able to include 25 tax cuts or tax credits in the bill. One of those was the “Making Work Pay” tax credit which will provide a refundable tax credit of 6.2 percent of earned income up to $400 for individuals and up to $800 for married taxpayers filing joint returns. More than 95 percent of working families will be able to use this tax credit for the 2009 and 2010 tax years.

Another great tax incentive, and one I definitely can relate to as I have a daughter in college and another soon to be headed there, is the $2,500 tax savings for families and students under the American Opportunity Credit. Enhanced benefits under the 529 college savings plans will also help families and students as they pay college expenses. As parents, we all want the opportunity to see our children go to college and succeed, but in these difficult times, it is often hard to plan how to pay for it. I hope these savings will help ease the burden a little.

As you may have heard, first time homebuyers were able to get an $8,000 tax credit for first homes purchased by April 30, 2010 under the First Time Homebuyer tax credit. Folks making energy efficiency improvements to their homes, such as adding insulation or installing energy efficient windows, are eligible for up to $1,500 in tax credits. State and local sales taxes could be deducted on new vehicle purchases from Feb. 17, 2009 to Dec. 31, 2009.

We were able to expand family tax credits for moderate income families with children, making more folks eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit and additional Child Tax Credits.

As we all know too well, unemployment is a huge issue facing our district and our nation. Unemployment benefits would normally be taxable, but through the ARRA, the first $2,400 of unemployment benefits received in 2009 are now tax free. This allowed those struggling with the loss of income to keep a little more money from their unemployment benefits, helping people put food on their tables or pay their mortgages. There was also a tax credit on premiums for COBRA Continuation Coverage for unemployed workers.

The tax credits in the ARRA for small businesses included a temporary increase in the limitations on expensing some depreciable business assets. This will allow a five-year carryback of net operating losses for small business and will exclude 75 percent of small businesses from the Small Business Capital Gains Taxes. There was also a tax credit for hiring unemployed veterans and an advanced energy investment credit for properties designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

President Obama recently signed the HIRE Act, a bill I supported, that would exempt businesses hiring unemployed workers from the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax through December. It will also provide an additional $1,000 credit if new workers stay on the job a full year.

Another tax credit which holds important significance to me, since I spent many years as a school teacher, is the extension of the teacher tax credit of $250 for supplies they purchase for their classroom. It was a bill I introduced and was included as a part of a tax credit extension package. Teachers often spend much more than $250 of their own money to make sure our students have what they need to succeed in the classroom. While I would have liked to see the tax credit raised, I was happy in these tough times to get it extended to help our teachers. I will continue to work to get it increased.

I believe the estate tax should be abolished, but that didn’t happen. However, we were able to pass a bill that reduces the maximum taxable percentage by 10 percent and raises the exemption from $1 million to $3.5 million for individuals and $7 million for couples. If we had not been able to pass this legislation, the taxable percentage would have been raised to 55 percent and the exemption would have only been $1 million in 2011 which I believe would have prevented families from passing on businesses to the next generation.

I know we all want to pay our fair share and support schools, roads, our military and other public services. However, I know you also want to know those tax dollars are being well spent. I know you want to see government waste eliminated and your tax dollars spent wisely. I’ve fought to make sure that as many of your tax dollars as possible come back to be put to work for you here at home. So far we’ve brought back over a billion dollars in the last fifteen months. I will continue to fight for projects that benefit our district.

While tax season always brings stress and worry for families, please know I have worked hard in the 111th Congress to help lighten the tax burden on working families and small businesses. Remember if you do have problems with the IRS or any federal agency, you can contact my office to help cut through any red tape you are experiencing.



Congressman Larry Kissell (D-N.C. -8) offices include Rockingham: 230 East Franklin St., Rockingham, NC 28379, Phone: 997-2070; Concord number (704) 786-1612; Fayetteville number (910) 920-2070; Washington office: 512 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515; phone (202) 225-3715. Web site, kissell.house.gov.