Tax relief package covers wide range

There are four dozen small provisions in the new law.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of taxpayers, thousands of businesses and groups as diverse as solar power developers and natural disaster victims will see tax relief with the $700 billion financial rescue plan that Bush signed Friday.

The tax relief package attached to the rescue law promotes renewable energy development and extends dozens of tax breaks from the critical research and development tax credit to breaks for such narrowly focused groups as motor sports racetrack owners, film producers and bicycle commuters.

About 20 million mainly upper-middle income taxpayers will make up the largest group to benefit from the tax portion of the rescue plan. Without congressional action, the alternative minimum tax, originally intended to affect only the very rich, would add some $2,000 this year to the tax bill of these people, most earning under $200,000 a year.

The measure also has $8 billion in tax breaks for disaster victims, $5 billion for higher education tuition deductions and $400 million in deductions for teachers who pay for school supplies.

There are $3 billion in deductions for residents of states without income taxes that have state and local sales taxes.

There are also some four dozen small provisions. Among them, with projected costs over 10 years:

UExtending an expired provision that gives Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands a rebate against excise taxes charged on imported rum. The cost is $192 million.

UEstablishing a new tax credit ranging from $2,500 to $7,500 for purchasers of plug-in electric-drive vehicles. Cost: $758 million.

UExtending tax credits that expired at the end of 2007 for certain domestic corporations involved in American Samoa economic development. Cost: $33 million.

UExtending a credit of up to $10,000 for the training of mine rescue team members. The one-year extension costs $4 million.

UEnacting President Bush’s proposal to erase the debt of the black lung disability trust fund at a cost of $1.3 billion.

UExtending for one year a seven-year depreciation timetable that NASCAR and other motorsport racing facilities have had for some years, the same tax break that amusement parks enjoy. Cost: $100 million.

UExtending for five years a program that reduces import duties on some wool fabrics. Cost: $148 million.

UIncreasing the single-year deduction in production costs, from $15 million to $20 million, that film and TV productions may take if the costs are incurred in economically depressed areas. Cost: $478 million.

UExtending two programs that fund rural schools and rural communities that have been relying on declining income from logging on federal land or have low property tax bases because they are on or next to federal lands. Cost: $3.3 billion.