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H.R. 3997, The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
- This bill has been mooted by the passage of another bill on the same subject or by other events. Check 'Related Bills' below to see if other bills on this subject have been passed into law. Mooted: 10/3/2008.
- This item is from the 110th Congress (2007-2008) and is no longer current. Comments, voting, and wiki editing have been disabled, and the cost/savings estimate has been frozen.
Comparing original version (created by webmaster) with revision saved on October 31, 2007, 18:30:50 (webmaster):
H.R. 3997 would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide earnings assistance and tax relief to members of the uniformed services, volunteer firefighters, and Peace Corps volunteers.
== Detailed Summary ==
<summary>
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</summary>
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== Status of the Legislation ==
<status>
(Log inLatest Major Action: 10/30/2007: Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to edit the wikiHouse Committee on Ways and be the first to update the status of the bill!)Means.
</status>
<!-- Leave in the 'status' tags if you want the latest reported status from THOMAS automatically to replace the text between the tags once it becomes available. -->
== Points in Favor ==
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== Points Against ==
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Cost per :
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Visitor Comments 
Average Joe Schmo
November 5, 2007, 2:58pm (report abuse)How could you vote no on this, have you no respect for our soldiers, sailors and volunteers who valiantly and voluntarily put their lives on the line every day. Not one person was held at gun point and forced to volunteer they were not drafted, those of you who have said to deny a tax brake for brave volunteers should be ashamed. What have you done for this country lately, complain?
Average PA Fireman
November 7, 2007, 11:25am (report abuse)Why does this bill exclude career emergency members? We all volunteer to put our lives on the line everyday in our careers just as do our career military members. Why not include all of us or drop volunteers from this and keep it for our military members? Lets help our miilitary and get those of us in public safety out of the mix until we can afford this bill and its cost.
Green Card Holder
December 24, 2007, 12:15pm (report abuse)I'm happy for the military beneficiaries, but this bill adds an "exit tax" for green card holders who retire back to their home countries. The penalty is such that, in effect, no legal permanent resident can make use of any 401(k), IRA, or other pension plan. This part of the act is simply vindictive and spiteful on the part of Congress.
Wisconsin Firefighter
January 11, 2008, 2:17pm (report abuse)This bill should pass for the volunteer service because the volunteer services are getting harder and harder to retain volunteer emergency service workers. There currently is no incentive to take time away from your family to do these jobs. As taxes in my local municipality continue to rise, I face the decision of moving out of the municipality in which I serve as a volunteer FF in order to build our long awaited home outside of the city limits. This is because the taxes on the same home in the rural area is substantially lower. We have already lost 2 other FF's just last year to this same dillema. Something needs to be done to make some incentive for these individuals who volunteer so they are justified to remain living in the area where they serve.
RAYMOND A. CALABRESE
May 6, 2008, 6:03pm (report abuse)$360 a year means a $90 savings for the 25% tax bracket.
An insult.
Tax Paying Citizen Abroad
July 9, 2008, 7:55pm (report abuse)Anyone supporting this clearly only has a view of the world from their cornfield. I am a US citizen and have been living abroad for more than 20 years. Every year I have to pay taxes on money I make anywhere in the world eventhough I get no benefits since I don't live in the US. I can just imagine how infuriated new residents that have gone to the US to work for some years and get a green card must feel as they think that just because they spent some years working and paying taxes in the US, suddenly they are liable for taxes for everything they make anywhere in the world once they leave the US.
Immigration made the US great, now the smarter minds might as well go to China or India with the real future is...
for those of you that don't get this...wake up and look a bit further then your corn field...
Amen to TPCA's comments
July 11, 2008, 10:04pm (report abuse)I couldn't say it any better. This (exit tax) is bad law and should be recinded.
Just a working Grandma
August 16, 2008, 10:18pm (report abuse)The Exit Tax is simply bad for Americans. It's bad because it restricts the movement of people and money, which works against the very notion of global free-market economies. Virtually any modern economist would argue that free trade is in the best, long-term interest of everyone. American and European history bears that out... Looking back, each time restrictive regulations have been implemented, the result has been greater economic hardship- not prosperity- to the respective economies. Over the long run, exit taxes, border controls, privacy intrusions and currency regulations do nothing to help the growth of this country. They only serve as the next step in the prohibition of the free movement of people and property. Instead of more restrictive regulations, Congress needs to fix the prevailing system. In the meantime, an increasing number of citizens are looking for the American Dream offshore. Doing so, however, means learning how to protect your assets offshore.
webmaster
October 2, 2008, 9:22am (report abuse)On September 28, 2008, the text of the "Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2007" was swapped out of this bill and it was made into the "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008," also known as the financial services bailout legislation.
Summary information in the wiki article (currently reflecting the old bill) will update when a new summary is published by the Congressional Research Service.
Chicago Lou
October 2, 2008, 5:27pm (report abuse)This financial service bailout is a travesty and a waste! The Senate and the House - they should all be thrown out!
aphsMichigan
October 3, 2008, 7:45am (report abuse)Way to see it through Wisdom eyes of a grandma! Right on girl
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