ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 1, 1997 TAG: 9701020043
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: CALVIN WOODWARD ASSOCIATED PRESS
The new year means new veto power for presidents, tax breaks for some Americans and a challenging road for the poor. Laws taking effect today span the range of what government does.
Jan. 1 is just one benchmark for the enactment of fresh federal laws. But it's a busy one, coming off an election year that brimmed with presidential promises and congressional action.
Few changes have been awaited with more anticipation in Washington than the advent of the line-item veto, enabling the president to strike specific spending or tax measures from legislation without killing the whole bill.
That power is designed to go after the pork-barrel projects and special-interest tax breaks attached to legislation. But it may be a few months before President Clinton gives it a test.
The effect of today's other changes, from the arcane to the widely felt, may be more immediate.
Laws take effect setting up or increasing tax breaks for certain health coverage, homemakers, some elderly people and others.
Topping the list: a one-time, per-child tax credit of up to $6,000 for most people who adopt; a $2,000 deduction for contributions to an IRA by a homemaker; a new deduction for health insurance for long-term care.
But Jan.1 today also marks the end of disability payments to 92,000 Americans who, the government maintains, are not working because they are addicted to drugs or alcohol.
Most legal immigrants lose eligibility for cash welfare in Alabama, Kentucky, South Carolina and Wyoming - the four states so far that have opted under federal law to cut them off.
And it's the start of a year bringing major changes to welfare - a staggered overhaul ending the federal guarantee of cash assistance to the needy and the spread of work requirements and time limits.
Among changes taking effect today:
A tax credit of up to $5,000 for most adoptions, $6,000 for adoption of a hard-to-place child, available to families with incomes below $115,000.
Higher fees at many national parks, as part of a plan to raise fees at 100 parks in stages.
A 2.9 percent cost-of-living increase in Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits.
A 3 percent pay increase for the military.
The lapsing of a 10 percent federal tax on commercial airline tickets. But airlines are planning to pocket the savings rather than pass them on to travelers.
A step allowing people aged 65 to 69 to earn $13,500 a year without losing any Social Security benefits, up from $12,500.
A step allowing small-business owners to deduct 40 percent of the cost of their health insurance premiums, up from 30 percent.
Penalty-free withdrawals from Individual Retirement Accounts to cover health insurance premiums, available to the unemployed. Penalty-free withdrawals to cover medical expenses for certain workers with high health bills.
The tax breaks are for 1997 and will be claimed in the next tax season. But many people who adopt, for example, can have the amount of tax money deducted from their paychecks lowered sooner in anticipation of the credit.
LENGTH: Medium: 73 linesby CNB