Promises Kept: Part 1 -- Tax Cuts for Individuals

Part 1
Tax Cuts for Individuals
A Tax News & Views Special Report:
Promises Kept: The 1997 Tax Law

Guide to
Promises Kept

Tax Cuts for Individuals

Principal Tax Increases

Other Key Provisions

Table of Contents

he political centerpiece of this year's budget agreement is "middle-class" tax relief, including a $500 per child tax credit and incentives for postsecondary education. Together, these provisions account for over 80% of the tax cuts provided by the Act in the first five years after enactment. We place the term "middle class" in quotation marks to focus attention on the political statement made in drafting these provisions. In this year's legislation, Congress focused on providing relief to families with preschool and school age children rather than to the entire middle class. In addition, Congress defined the middle class to include families with adjusted gross incomes of up to $110,000. Congress concluded, with limited money to spend on tax reduction, it should focus tax relief on families with children.

Here's what you'll find in this section:

Chapter 1: Family Tax Relief
Chapter 2: Capital Gains
Chapter 3: Individual Retirement Accounts
Chapter 4: Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Tax Provisions

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Tax News & Views is produced by the Financial Counseling Specialists and the Legislative & Regulatory Services Group at Deloitte & Touche LLP.