Thursday, January 3, 2013
The main reason is the elimination of the payroll tax.
Despite the House and Senate reaching a Fiscal Cliff deal, 77 percent of Americans will pay more in taxes in 2013. That's because even though just 1 percent of households will pay higher income taxes, an increase in federal payroll taxes will hit nearly every wage earner, according to analysis by the Tax Policy Center. Individuals earning between $40,000 and $50,000 a year face an average tax increase of $579 in 2013, according to the Tax Policy Center's analysis. The average U.S. worker would pay $679 more in taxes this year under the fiscal cliff deal passed by the Senate early Tuesday morning, while the average member of the top 1 percent of earners would pay $73,633 more, according to Tax Policy Center analysis. The increases are …
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
The agreement reached between the White House and Congress doesn't address spending cuts and leaves another potential debt limit showdown on the table. It also increases taxes on income over $400,000. Is this a deal that works for you?
After a marathon holiday negotiation session, grumbling by liberal senators and a near-revolt by conservative representatives, the fiscal cliff deal was approved by the House of Representatives late Tuesday night. The bargain will increase taxes on income above $450,000 for families, increase capital gains taxes, permanently fix the alternative minimum tax, change the estate tax and provide some changes in deductions. It also will extend unemployment benefits, earned income tax credits and other tax breaks for the working class. The Washington Post has a cheat sheet with all of the details. Middle class taxpayers will still see a smaller paycheck in 2013; The payroll tax cut was not preserved as part of the fiscal cliff deal. That tax …
Thursday, December 27, 2012
President, Congress have just a few days to avert automatic tax increases and spending cuts. A number of Massachusetts Congressman suggest cutting nuclear programs instead.
Starbucks baristas are writing "come together" on all cups in the Washington, DC, area to encourage Congress and the President to come together to fix the fiscal cliff issue. For more information about this initiative, go to www.patch.com/fixthedebt. Congress and President Obama are racing against the clock this week as they make one last attempt to hammer out a deal to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff” the U.S. government is set to go over on New Year’s Day. Without a compromise deal to lower the deficit, the government will face a self-imposed deadline that triggers both spending cuts and higher taxes. Congress itself set the Jan. 1 deadline after failing to come to a budget compromise earlier this year. On Jan. 1, the George W. Bush-…
Friday, December 7, 2012
The state senator said discussions on taxation need to happen.
Gov. Deval Patrick ordered spending cuts across state government on Tuesday to close a projected $540 million budget hole, the Associated Press reported. Patrick blamed the economoic uncertainty caused by the looming ‘‘fiscal cliff.’’ State Sen. Jamie Eldridge said he has reviewed the cuts and does have concerns in regards to the school district, the bussing of homeless students and council on aging, among others. He also said serious discussions about taxation of the wealthy needs to happen at the municipal level. A call to Town Manager Maureen Valente seeking comment was not returned. The governor said he would use his authority under state law to cut executive branch spending by $225 million, equivalent to about 1 percent of the budget …
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Massachusetts Democrats in Congress want to avoid cuts in benefits as part of any deal, but proposals such as raising the eligibility age for Medicare are still on the table. What would you do?
As Congress negotiates a deal to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" on Jan. 1, Massachusetts' congressional representatives have voiced their opposition to any cuts in benefits such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, the Boston Globe reports. However, there are proposals still on the table that would change those benefit programs, including linking Social Security benefits to a more conservative inflation index that would slightly reduce annual increases, or raising the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67. The Globe reported that while the Bay State's legislators were united against changes to Social Security, there's some wiggle room on Medicare. Rep. Ed Markey opposes raising the Medicare eligibility age; Rep. Michael …
Charlie Kadlec
7:22 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
No, I do not like the "fiscal cliff deal". The real "fiscal cliff" is the unsustainable deficit spending which this bill does not address -- it even perpetuates the worst of Washington practices by including lobbyist-driven "pork" -- special tax breaks for rum producers, NASCAR, Hollywood, asparagus growers and others. Did the people voting for this bill even know what was in it ? The President … more ›