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KATRINA TAX UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 8, 2005

September 08, 2005

Congress is beginning to consider the shape of tax incentives it may enact in response to the Katrina disaster. Ideas floated by Congressional Democrats so far include:

* provide half a dependency deduction (for each Hurricane Katrina survivor) to taxpayers that house for at least 90 days those displaced by the storm;

* exempt from taxable income education expenses for students displaced by Hurricane Katrina;

* extend the work opportunity tax credit to employers that hire workers displaced by the hurricane; and

* provide a 50 percent tax credit, up to $12,000, to employers with fewer than 50 employees that continue paying employees during the hurricane rebuilding phase.

Republicans seem to lean more towards the something like accelerated depreciation and expensing provisions for rebuilding that were enacted for areas affected by the September 2001 terror attacks.

Meanwhile, your help is still needed. Give generously to the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, or one of the worthy charities here.

DES MOINES READERS! A friend forwards the following request:

We have friends who are displaced from New Orleans. They moved from West Des Moines to New Orleans in August for Carlo's job with an insurance company. Jan and the boys (Paul and Kevin) are now back in West Des Moines and Carlos is staying in Baton Rouge to work with other displaced co-workers. The boys have started back at their old schools (Indian Hills and Westridge in West Des Moines). They are living with us while they look for housing. They are looking for a 3 bedroom condo, house or town home they can rent, preferably in WDM. They do have a well-behaved indoor dog. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas, please let me know. They are glad to be safe, but exhausted from the stress. They have very few belongings with them.

If you know of a place for these folks, send me an email, and I will pass it on.

LINK: Summary of IRS Hurricane Relief

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