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Sen. Patty Murray's office put together a breakdown of the many, many things in the federal economic stimulus package that President Obama is expected to sign on Tuesday. I've rewritten parts of her Friday news release with comments and observation.
Comments and correction that can shed more light on this are most welcome. Please.
From a state government point of view, it appears that less than $2.5 billion of the $7 billion or so that Washington will get from the feds over the next 30 months will help the Legislature deal with its own $7 billion-plus operating budget deficit. Money for Hanford and the BPA doesn't do state budget-writers any good, at least, not in the short term. (There's the job-creation aspect over the long haul, but that won't help plug the gaping hole in the 2009-11 budget.)
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes at least $6.7 billion in funding for Washington state, plus tax cuts, tax breaks for people who buy cars, trucks or houses this year, money for food stamps, extra cash for retirees and vets, more money for college Pell grants, and on and on. Keep reading to the bottom. Some of the stuff I don't understand, but you readers do.
The following is a list of some of the investments, tax cuts and grant programs that will benefit Washington state. All figures are for Washington state unless otherwise noted.
INCOME TAX CUT: It's $400 for singles, $800 for couples. You won't notice it until the end of May, when between $8 and $16 less will be taken out of your weekly paycheck. It would appear to run until May 2010.
ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAX: According to the Congressional Research Service, 348,000 Washingtonians would be protected from the Alternative Minimum Tax in 2009. (I don't know a thing about the AMT.)
FIRST-TIME HOME BUYER TAX CREDIT: This bill includes an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers who purchase their homes between January 1st and December 1st, 2009. But adjusted gross income has to be less than $75,000 ($150,000 in the case of a joint return).
SALES TAX DEDUCTION FOR VEHICLE PURCHASES: The bill provides most taxpayers with a deduction for State and local sales and excise taxes paid on the purchase of new cars, light truck, recreational vehicles, and motorcycles through 2009.
