www.yahoo.com:Backdoor taxes to hit middle class

[Thiebear]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100201/bs_nm/us_budget_backdoortaxes

NEW YORK (Reuters.com) --The Obama administration's plan to cut more than $1 trillion from the deficit over the next decade relies heavily on so-called backdoor tax increases that will result in a bigger tax bill for middle-class families.

In the 2010 budget tabled by President Barack Obama on Monday, the White House wants to let billions of dollars in tax breaks expire by the end of the year -- effectively a tax hike by stealth.

While the administration is focusing its proposal on eliminating tax breaks for individuals who earn $250,000 a year or more, middle-class families will face a slew of these backdoor increases.

The targeted tax provisions were enacted under the Bush administration's Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. Among other things, the law lowered individual tax rates, slashed taxes on capital gains and dividends, and steadily scaled back the estate tax to zero in 2010.

*From another site*

In this Sept. 12, 2008, file photo Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks at the McConnell Center in Dover, N.H. “I can make a firm pledge,” he said there; “Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.” That pledge went up in smoke Wednesday, April 1, 2009, when largest increase in tobacco taxes, took effect, a tax that disproportionately affects the poor.

lower-income families will pay more as well: the 25 percent tax bracket will revert back to 28 percent; the 28 percent bracket will increase to 31 percent; and the 33 percent bracket will increase to 36 percent. The special 10 percent bracket is eliminated.

read my lips: no new taxes...

[SkinsHokieFan]

People who rail against the 2001 tax cuts tend to forget how much they did for EVERYONE in lower brackets as well.

Getting rid of the 10 percent bracket will hurt

[Thiebear]

Nancy Pelosi puts it so nicely: IF you have to stumble around like this: you know your on the wrong side of truth.

and just so we know: the White House clarified their statement after the tobacco tax increase.

The White House contends Obama's campaign pledge left room for measures such as the one financing children's health insurance.

"The president's position throughout the campaign was that he would not raise income or payroll taxes on families making less than $250,000, and that's a promise he has kept," said White House spokesman Reid H. Cherlin. "In this case, he supported a public health measure that will extend health coverage to 4 million children who are currently uninsured."

[endzone_dave]

People want the government to do more and more for them: pay for their health insurance if they don't have any, pay their mortgage if they can't afford it any more, bail out this, bail out that...

Guess what, it take more money to do those things. Of course we have to pay more taxes.

[THEREALTOR1]

People want the government to do more and more for them: pay for their health insurance if they don't have any, pay their mortgage if they can't afford it any more, bail out this, bail out that...

Guess what, it take more money to do those things. Of course we have to pay more taxes.

Not all people

[rdsknbill]

[Burgold]

I'm not against paying more taxes. Everyone complains about the debt and the size of government. Well, it's going to take an increase in revenue to get rid of that debt. We can fantasize about ginormous government cuts, but neither Republicans nor Democrats ever substantially cut and if they do cut something some Senator has three pet projects lined up to take its place.

If you do believe debt is a problem, the only way to address it is with tax increases or preferably tax increases combined with prudent cutting.

[SKINS@THEGOALLINE]

Reuters has since withdrawn the story? :whoknows:

[Tulane Skins Fan]

People who rail against the 2001 tax cuts tend to forget how much they did for EVERYONE in lower brackets as well.

Getting rid of the 10 percent bracket will hurt

The Bush tax cuts are as big a culprit of the current debt we have as anything else Congress has done in the last 30 years.

Its simply amazing to me that people are complaining about the "out of control deficit and debt" and also saying that we need to lower taxes.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

I'm not against paying more taxes. Everyone complains about the debt and the size of government. Well, it's going to take an increase in revenue to get rid of that debt. We can fantasize about ginormous government cuts, but neither Republicans nor Democrats ever substantially cut and if they do cut something some Senator has three pet projects lined up to take its place.

If you do believe debt is a problem, the only way to address it is with tax increases or preferably tax increases combined with prudent cutting.

Exactly. We're not close to balanced. We need to address spending and revenue problems. The tax rates were simply too low, and the spending was simply too high. We aren't going to balance anything by addressing one and not the other.

[sjinhan]

I'm not against paying more taxes. Everyone complains about the debt and the size of government. Well, it's going to take an increase in revenue to get rid of that debt. We can fantasize about ginormous government cuts, but neither Republicans nor Democrats ever substantially cut and if they do cut something some Senator has three pet projects lined up to take its place.

If you do believe debt is a problem, the only way to address it is with tax increases or preferably tax increases combined with prudent cutting.

+1

Everyone that complains about us reducing the country's debt need to realize we need to REDUCE SPENDING and PAY HIGHER TAXES at least until we get our country back on track.

The country's debt isnt someone else's debt.. IT IS ALL OF OURS!

[Duncan]

It's not a tax increase, it's just reverting to the higher rates before the Bush tax cuts...

and I'm not pissing down your leg, it's just raining.

[sjinhan]

It's not a tax increase, it's just reverting to the higher rates before the Bush tax cuts...

and I'm not pissing down your leg, it's just raining.

yeah but people want to spin everything...

If this war in Afganistan and Iraq ends during Obama's tenure.. I bet the headline is going to be "Obama cuts military spending by 50%"

[CrabR]

I have often wondered how you can cut taxes during "War time"

[SkinsHokieFan]

The Bush tax cuts are as big a culprit of the current debt we have as anything else Congress has done in the last 30 years.

Its simply amazing to me that people are complaining about the "out of control deficit and debt" and also saying that we need to lower taxes.

If there was a simple ounce of sanity in Washington DC. the previous President, nor this President would be anywhere near a 4 trillion dollar budget in 2010.

Just to show you how out of control it is, our budget in 2000 was 1.7 trillion.

It took our nation 224 years to get to 1.7 trillion and in less then a decade we have more then doubled that (to a 3.8 trillion budget) And yes, I do know quite a bit of this growth was the fault of the previous President

Hey, I got no problem from going from 36 to 39 percent in the top bracket. Thats no biggie. But don't punish everyone else

[SkinsHokieFan]

And this was just 2.5 years ago

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSWBT00770120071011

Somehow our deficit is 10 times this much in less then 30 months. And we are going to raise taxes not just on the rich (which in this environement I will go on record by saying I support) but every other poor soul. Even with the crises we just had, this is madness

CORRECTED-U.S. fiscal 2007 budget deficit falls to $163 bln

Thu Oct 11, 2007 12:37pm EDT(Corrects last sentence to say federal deficit peaked in fiscal 2004, not 2007)

Bonds

WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. federal budget deficit for fiscal 2007 fell for a third straight year to $163 billion as record tax receipts outstripped record federal spending, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Thursday.

A bumper $111.56 billion surplus for September -- a month with typically large tax collections -- brought the full fiscal year deficit down well below the White House's latest estimate of $205 billion for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, the Treasury said. Last year's federal deficit was $248 billion after peaking at $413 billion in fiscal 2004.

[btfoom]

I'm not against paying more taxes. Everyone complains about the debt and the size of government. Well, it's going to take an increase in revenue to get rid of that debt. We can fantasize about ginormous government cuts, but neither Republicans nor Democrats ever substantially cut and if they do cut something some Senator has three pet projects lined up to take its place.

If you do believe debt is a problem, the only way to address it is with tax increases or preferably tax increases combined with prudent cutting.

The problem is that there is little correlation between higher taxes and increased/improved services. More money keeps coming into federal, state, and local governments, yet they keep cutting services.

I don't mind paying for services that are needed. Until the government reforms how it spends the money, it won't matter. One example:

In DC, the average cost per student is almost $25000 per year (source:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/04/AR2008040402921.html), yet the educational system there is horrible. On the other hand, total per pupil spending at D.C. area private schools -- among the most upscale in the nation -- averages about $10,000 less. For most private schools, the difference is even greater.

This is the problem I have with taxes and government spending.

By the way, all of you who have no problem with higher taxes, how much extra did you give to the government (Federal, State, Local) over and above the minimum amount they collect? Just curious to see if you backed up your words with actions.

[sjinhan]

Hey, I got no problem from going from 36 to 39 percent in the top bracket. Thats no biggie. But don't punish everyone else

I am one of the smaller guys but EVERYONE saw got benefit from federal spending...

I know most dont think so but hey we got those boys over in Iraq and Afganistan fighting terrorists to keep you safe right? so dont think it of as a punishment but as a price of "admission" in this country.

[cedk]

The picture and the news of this post pointed mostly that Obama was a liar and or lying only 1 1/2 years ago!

But nobody is addressing that main point yet.

[SkinsHokieFan]

I am one of the smaller guys but EVERYONE saw got benefit from federal spending...

I know most dont think so but hey we got those boys over in Iraq and Afganistan fighting terrorists to keep you safe right? so dont think it of as a punishment but as a price of "admission" in this country.

In today's environment, having the lowest tax bracket go from 10 percent to 15 percent is quite a bit of punishment for those people.

I am willing to compromise here and say soak the rich for 2-3 years so long as they are still getting 100 million dollar bonuses.

Don't hit the guy who makes 25k a year

[dfitzo53]

this is madness

This is Sparta!

Edit: Darn thing automatically undoes all caps.

[sjinhan]

The problem is that there is little correlation between higher taxes and increased/improved services. More money keeps coming into federal, state, and local governments, yet they keep cutting services.

I don't mind paying for services that are needed. Until the government reforms how it spends the money, it won't matter. One example:

In DC, the average cost per student is almost $25000 per year (source:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/04/AR2008040402921.html), yet the educational system there is horrible. On the other hand, total per pupil spending at D.C. area private schools -- among the most upscale in the nation -- averages about $10,000 less. For most private schools, the difference is even greater.

This is the problem I have with taxes and government spending.

By the way, all of you who have no problem with higher taxes, how much extra did you give to the government (Federal, State, Local) over and above the minimum amount they collect? Just curious to see if you backed up your words with actions.

DC school system is a bad example because its not the money nor the school system that is the issue there IMHO. Its the students and their surrounding's attitude toward education that is the problem.

Like I stated before the government spending HAS to get REDUCED. But right now not only do we need to cut spending but we also need to pay down debt ASAP. We can cut back on our taxes after we get better control of our finances but with the debt that is currently on the books, the interest payment is going to slowly bleed us to death.

Do I need to even answer your last question? We all should do our part and I do that by taxes that the government asks of me.

[sjinhan]

In today's environment, having the lowest tax bracket go from 10 percent to 15 percent is quite a bit of punishment for those people.

I am willing to compromise here and say soak the rich for 2-3 years so long as they are still getting 100 million dollar bonuses.

Don't hit the guy who makes 25k a year

maybe I am little heartless... or maybe because I lived with parents who took on a second job to make ends meet...

But the guy who makes 25k a year.. extra 5% is $1250 for the year.. or extra $104 a month... so the dude cant go find a second job to make the ends meet? (EDIT: and this is IF the person has no tax deduction which is very unlikely!)

The country has gotten into this mess because too many people want alot but want to do minimum work. I really dont have any pity for those who are working a 40 hr work week then complaining that they have it rough nor do I have any pity for those making millions benefiting off the American economy then complaining about paying too much taxes.

[DeanCollins]

to the OP, gotta pay for those wars you voted for somehow. suck it up and get another job if you have to. :shark: <---tax shark is after theibear

[btfoom]

to the OP, gotta pay for those wars you voted for somehow. suck it up and get another job if you have to. :shark: <---tax shark is after theibear

Ummm, it's more like we gotta pay for all those social services for tens of millions who don't pay a dime into the system that you voted for, somehow. Maybe this year you'll give some extra to the government (you know, that whole 'practice what you preach' thingy).