Clinton proposes tax break for people caring for relatives

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton unveiled an ambitious proposal to care for elderly and disabled Americans Sunday, including a tax credit to help pay for up to $6,000 of caregiving espenses.

The proposal is the latest iteration of a long-time Clinton proposal. In 1999, President Clinton — with his First Lady by his side — proposed a package of tax incentives to help pay for long-term care, including a $1,000 tax credit for some family caregivers.

Clinton, who will discuss the proposal at a town hall meeting in Des Moines Sunday, has made family care issues part of her outreach to women and middle-class families.

In a similar town hall in New Hampshire in July, Clinton described what she called a "care-giving crisis" and said government programs need to do more to help. "We can pay for somebody coming in from the outside, but how do we provide some kind of financial support for the woman taking care of her husband and her mother," she said. "I think we're smart enough to figure that out."

Clinton is also proposing a change in Social Security to allow caregivers who drop out of the workforce to raise children or care for elderly parents a credit toward their retirement benefits, and $100 million in grants to fund respite care programs to allow family caregivers to take time off from caring for relatives of any age.