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By Karina Martínez, Corazón Latino
Here’s a riddle: What will save families hundreds of dollars a year, lower the cost of prescription drugs, grow the economy from the bottom up, deliver cleaner air and finally make large corporations pay their fair share of taxes?
Answer: The Inflation Reduction Act.
Yes, the newly signed legislation can be overwhelming to sift through. However, the main takeaway: it will improve American lives.
Here’s how:
Through tax credits and direct rebates, families and households can save up to 30% for construction projects on windows, doors, insulation or other means of preventing energy from escaping homes — as well as make it easier to buy energy efficient appliances. This translates into putting money in your pocket in two ways: Getting the initial tax credits and direct rebates and then subsequent savings on your energy bill by making your household more energy efficient — which will save every family an average of $500 a year. A win-win!
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The newly signed legislation will provide an additional 10-20% credit for solar projects. It will also include tax credits for wind. And, perhaps most importantly, there will be bonus credits for businesses that hire workers through registered apprenticeship programs so that clean energy creates good paying jobs.
Americans were already paying close to three times more for their prescription drugs than people in other wealthy nations. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, that’s about to change. The amount that seniors with Medicare pay at the pharmacy will now be capped at $2,000 a year so that our vulnerable elders no longer have to worry about going bankrupt to stay alive. It will also cap the amount seniors with Medicare will have to pay for insulin at $35 a month as well as provide free shingles vaccines for Medicare recipients.
And, the icing on the cake: the bill will drastically reduce the number of uninsured Americans.
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Small businesses can receive a tax credit covering 30% of the costs of switching over to solar power, both lowering operating costs and providing a buffer against high energy prices currently hurting small business owners.
The new legislation will reduce dangerous greenhouse gases, cutting pollution by an estimated 40 percent 2030. Another win-win for Americans.
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How does the Inflation Reduction Act pay for itself? By making the extremely wealthy and billion-dollar corporations pay their fair share of taxes – something they’ve been dodging for decades. And will not raise taxes on the middle class. In fact, the bill will lower the deficit, not raise it!
The Inflation Reduction Act is a home run if you’re interested in breathing cleaner air and having more money in your wallet.
