Bush Tax Bill Fulfills Campaign Pledge by William L. Pierce

>Tom Bliley Adoption Credit is $10,000 and is Permanent
by William L. Pierce, PhD
Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute
© 2001 All Rights Reserved

Dateline: Sunday, May 27, 2001

Prospective adoptive families scanning the news today and finding no information about the adoption tax credit can relax. Sources on Capitol Hill said Saturday that the Republican-controlled Conference on thePresident's proposal to return some of the tax surplus to citizens includedthe credit in the package.

According to these sources, tucked into the bill that will be signed into law by President Bush as early as Monday are the major features that were part of the "Hope for Children Act," the proposal championed by Rep. Tom Bliley, the long-time Republican adoption advocate from Richmond, Virginia.

The bill fulfills a campaign pledge by President Bush to make theadoption tax credit permanent for all adoptive families and to expand thevalue of the credit to taxpayers. The credit was set to expire for all butspecial needs adoption from the public foster care system as of the end of2001, putting an estimated 40,000 potential adoptions at risk of losingbenefits.

1. The tax credit will now provide a maximum of $10,000 per adoption for allfamilies, up from $6,000 for those adopting a U.S. child with special needsfrom the public foster care system, and up from $5,000 for all otheradoptions.
   
   
2. The number of moderate-income families who can benefit increases becausebenefits begin to phase out at $150,000 Adjusted Gross Income rather thanthe current $75,000, with the ceiling set at $190,000 modified AGI.
   
   
3. Families adopting U.S. children with special needs would have a newbenefit, starting in 2003, providing that regardless of whether the taxpayerhas eligible expenses in that year or not, if the adoption is finalized, thecredit applies.

Full details of the adoption tax credit provisions, which many are callingthe "Tom Bliley Adoption Credit," and which passed the House in a differentform earlier this month by a vote of 240 - 0, will be available soon.

The Conference Report is available online in the Congressional Record.

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