On June 7, 2001, President Bush signed a massive new tax law known as the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. The Act's most publicized feature is a $1.35 trillion package of tax cuts. However, the Act also contains more than 440 other tax law changes, some of which are of special relevance to church treasurers. We have carefully reviewed the entire text of the new law, and are summarizing in this feature article those provisions that are of most relevance to church treasurers.

Key point. All of the changes summarized in this article, along with many more, are addressed in the 2002 edition of the Church and Clergy Tax Guide. The fully updated 2002 edition contains indispensable and up-to-date information for church treasurers.

Key point. An unprecedented feature of the new law is a "sunset" provision that revokes all of the hundreds of tax law changes at the end of 2010 unless Congress votes to extend them. If Congress fails to take action, then the tax law in effect in 2001 will be reinstated. Because many taxpayers, in all income brackets, will increasingly rely on many of the tax law changes in the new law, it is inconceivable that Congress will allow all of the changes to expire at the end of 2010. It is reasonable to assume that many of the changes will be permanently adopted by Congress, but not necessarily all of them.