REGION: California's new 'kid tax' hits home

REGION: California's new 'kid tax' hits home:

Dependent credit slashed more than $200 per child in 2009
By BRADLEY J. FIKES - bfikes@nctimes.com
Posted: Wednesday, January 6, 2010 10:40 pm

Got kids? You owe hundreds more in California income taxes this year.

State legislators and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger slashed the dependent tax credit from $309 in the 2008 tax year to just $98 in 2009.

Because it's a tax credit, not a deduction, the cut amounts to a dollar-for-dollar tax increase of $211 per child.

While the cut was announced last year as part of California's budget process, it doesn't appear to be widely known, said Robert Skibicki, who said it came to his attention this week while preparing his daughter's tax return.

'When I pulled up the 540 form and saw it (the credit) had dropped from $309 to $98, I thought it was a mistake on the form,' said Skibicki, of Lake San Marcos. 'I'm an enrolled agent. I know about taxes and I didn't know about this.' Enrolled agents can represent taxpayers before the IRS.

Skibicki said it was an unpleasant surprise for his daughter. With two children, the hit to her pocketbook is more than $400"