Congress approves economic growth plan

The United States Congress and President George W. Bush Thursday reached a bipartisan agreement designed to boost consumer spending and stimulate the economy.

The economic growth plan will provide approximately $100 billion in temporary relief, according to a White House press release.

The stimulus package will cut taxes from 10% to 0% on the first $6,000 of taxable income for individuals and the first $12,000 of taxable income for couples in 2008. The plan will also provide rebates of up to $600 for individuals and $1,200 for couples. Furthermore, a minimum of $300 per person and $600 per couple would be available to those with earned income of at least $3,000. This relief would be available to everyone with adjusted gross income less than $75,000 for singles and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly.  It will be phased out for taxpayers above those income thresholds. An additional $300 will be provided per child for those who qualify.

The plan was also designed to help spur business investment. According to the White House, the agreement would save businesses approximately $50 billion in near-term taxes through a temporary change to the tax code that will allow American businesses that buy new equipment this year to deduct an additional 50% of the cost of their investment in 2008.

“I am pleased that this agreement meets the criterion that I set forth last week to provide an effective, robust, and temporary set of incentives that will boost our economy and encourage job creation,” President Bush said in a statement. “This package has the right set of policies and is the right size. The incentives in this package will lead to higher consumer spending and increased business investment this year.”