Carper’s Connection – April 2011

Dear Fellow Delawarean,

The 112th Congress is well underway. As our nation continues to face a mounting budget crisis, thousands of Delawareans are still searching for work and our fragile economy is still in recovery. I continue to work with my colleagues to develop common-sense solutions to reduce unemployment, stabilize the economy and address our nation’s greater, long-term fiscal challenges.

Whether it’s working to address our federal deficit, creating jobs, reforming education or encouraging small business development, I want to keep you and other Delawareans informed about the work I’m doing in Washington and Delaware and its impact on your life.

This electronic newsletter, Carper’s Connection, is just one of the ways I stay in touch with Delawareans. Constant communication with Delawareans helps me better serve you and do more for the First State. Please visit my newly redesigned website to learn more.

Telephone Town Halls

I learn a great deal from my fellow Delawareans by holding telephone town halls. Telephone town halls have been a good way for me to interact with and hear from thousands of Delawareans about important issues, like the economy and health care.

On Thursday, March 31, I held a telephone town hall that focused on Delaware’s business community. I reached over 9,000 Delaware residents and businesses, and hosted nearly 5,700 participants on the call.

To listen to the audio recording of the March 31 telephone town hall, please click here.

I look forward to holding more telephone town halls in the coming months. Please continue to check my website for updates.

Tax Day 2011

The tax filing deadline for most Americans is just days away. I spent this past weekend organizing my records and preparing my taxes. Like you, I am always pleased to get that task behind me. I’ve highlighted a few tax credits below that Delawareans may take advantage of when filing their tax returns between now and April 18:

Free IRS Tax Preparation and E-Filing Service
Health Care Tax Credit for Small Businesses
High Education Tax Credit for Students

I voted for the Middle Class Tax Relief Act in December. To see how these tax cuts will affect your 2011 taxes and to make sure you’re prepared to file your 2010 taxes, check out the White House Tax Cut Calculator and Checklist here.

For more information on tax preparation and credits, please visit the following websites:

http://IRS.gov/
http://whitehouse.gov/
http://healthcare.gov/

Staying In Touch

Please continue to stay in touch with me when you have questions, concerns or comments about issues that are important to you. And as always, you can find the most up-to-date information on issues and ways in which my office can be of service to you on my website. I would also like to encourage you to stay connected with me through social media on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.

To sign up friends and family for my e-newsletter click here.

With warm personal regards,

I am,

U.S. Senator Tom Carper