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Since it is about Obama, and it is not slobbering, worshipful approval, I am putting this is Debates--because, nowadays, it appears that anything that it not a school girl crush is either called obstructionist or racist...
You know, it's bad enough that these main stream media bozos are orgasmically, endlessly touting and approvingly reporting on the "Obama Tax Cut" (the "Making Work Pay" tax credit), which isn't a tax cut at all. But no one cares about the facts. They'll just call it a tax cut and hope that the American people are too stupid or too enamored (or is that "enchanted"?) with the Holy One to care about the facts. A tax cut is a reduction in the tax rate to which a person is subject. Obama just effected a change to withholding. That's it. That's all. But, yet, CNN screams at Tea Party protestors (while interviewing them for a report) that they are wrong to have their position because they (the protestors) are getting a tax cut (which they aren't).
Now, the media is completely missing an important story, that calls Obama out for the tax cut that has never happened. In short, it points out that while the new withholding rules at the IRS may result in more ($13/week more) in the paychecks of middle class workers, those rules also will cause the government to recapture that amount back at tax time next year, in the form of a smaller refund or a bill-owing. And who's covering this story and reporting to the American public the truth about their tax dollars? Pretty much no one. It's just easier to slobber all over whatever shoes Michelle is wearing or "How We Keep Our Love Alive!" (the Barack/Michelle ridiculous cover story on something like "US Weekly"). The press should be ashamed that their man-crush has caused them to completely abdicate professional ethics.
Anyhow, if anyone is interested, this does a pretty good job explaining why the tax "cut" isn't a cut at all, and why--for many taxpayers--it will be paying the withheld amount back.
_______
WASHINGTON (April 30) - Millions of Americans enjoying their small windfall from President Barack Obama's "Making Work Pay" tax credit are in for an unpleasant surprise next spring. The government is going to want some of that money back. The tax credit is supposed to provide up to $400 to individuals and $800 to married couples as part of the massive economic recovery package enacted in February. Most workers started receiving the credit through small increases in their paychecks in the past month.
But new tax withholding tables issued by the IRS could cause millions of taxpayers to get hundreds of dollars more than they are entitled to under the credit, money that will have to be repaid at tax time. At-risk taxpayers include a broad swath of the public: married couples in which both spouses work; workers with more than one job; retirees who have federal income taxes withheld from their pension payments and Social Security recipients with jobs that provide taxable income.
The Internal Revenue Service acknowledges problems with the withholding tables but has done little to warn average taxpayers. "They need to get the Goodyear blimp out there on this," said Tom Ochsenschlager, vice president of taxation for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. For many, the new tax tables will simply mean smaller-than-expected tax refunds next year, IRS spokesman Terry Lemons said. The average refund was nearly $2,700 this year. But taxpayers who calculate their withholding so they get only small refunds could face an unwelcome tax bill next April, said Jackie Perlman, an analyst with the Tax Institute at H&R Block.
"They are going to get a surprise," she said. Perlman's advice: check your federal withholding to make sure sufficient taxes are being taken out of your pay. If you are married and both spouses work, you might consider having taxes withheld at the higher rate for single filers. If you have multiple jobs, you might consider having extra taxes withheld by one of your employers. You can make that request with a Form W-4.
The IRS has a calculator on its Web site to help taxpayers figure withholding. So do many private tax preparers. Obama has touted the tax credit as one of the big achievements of his first 100 days in office, boasting that 95 percent of working families will qualify in 2009 and 2010. The credit pays workers 6.2 percent of their earned income, up to a maximum of $400 for individuals and $800 for married couples who file jointly. Individuals making more $95,000 and couples making more than $190,000 are ineligible. The tax credit was designed to help boost the economy by getting more money to consumers in their regular paychecks. Employers were required to start using the new withholding tables by April 1.
The tables, however, don't take into account several common categories of taxpayers, experts said. For example:
— A single worker with two jobs making $20,000 a year at each job will get a $400 boost in take-home pay at each of them, for a total of $800. That worker, however, is eligible for a maximum credit of $400, so the remaining $400 will have to be paid back at tax time — either through a smaller refund or a payment to the IRS. The IRS recognized there could be a similar problem for married couples if both spouses work, so it adjusted the withholding tables. The fix, however, was imperfect.
— A married couple with a combined income of $50,000 is eligible for an $800 credit. However, if both spouses work and make more than $13,000, the new withholding tables give them each a $600 boost — for a total of $1,200.
There were 33 million married couples in 2008 in which both spouses worked. That's 55 percent of all married couples, according to the Census Bureau.
— A single college student with a part-time job making $10,000 would get a $400 boost in pay. However, if that student is claimed as a dependent on a parent's tax return, she doesn't qualify for the credit and would have to repay it when she files next year.
You know, it's bad enough that these main stream media bozos are orgasmically, endlessly touting and approvingly reporting on the "Obama Tax Cut" (the "Making Work Pay" tax credit), which isn't a tax cut at all. But no one cares about the facts. They'll just call it a tax cut and hope that the American people are too stupid or too enamored (or is that "enchanted"?) with the Holy One to care about the facts. A tax cut is a reduction in the tax rate to which a person is subject. Obama just effected a change to withholding. That's it. That's all. But, yet, CNN screams at Tea Party protestors (while interviewing them for a report) that they are wrong to have their position because they (the protestors) are getting a tax cut (which they aren't).
Now, the media is completely missing an important story, that calls Obama out for the tax cut that has never happened. In short, it points out that while the new withholding rules at the IRS may result in more ($13/week more) in the paychecks of middle class workers, those rules also will cause the government to recapture that amount back at tax time next year, in the form of a smaller refund or a bill-owing. And who's covering this story and reporting to the American public the truth about their tax dollars? Pretty much no one. It's just easier to slobber all over whatever shoes Michelle is wearing or "How We Keep Our Love Alive!" (the Barack/Michelle ridiculous cover story on something like "US Weekly"). The press should be ashamed that their man-crush has caused them to completely abdicate professional ethics.
Anyhow, if anyone is interested, this does a pretty good job explaining why the tax "cut" isn't a cut at all, and why--for many taxpayers--it will be paying the withheld amount back.
_______
WASHINGTON (April 30) - Millions of Americans enjoying their small windfall from President Barack Obama's "Making Work Pay" tax credit are in for an unpleasant surprise next spring. The government is going to want some of that money back. The tax credit is supposed to provide up to $400 to individuals and $800 to married couples as part of the massive economic recovery package enacted in February. Most workers started receiving the credit through small increases in their paychecks in the past month.
But new tax withholding tables issued by the IRS could cause millions of taxpayers to get hundreds of dollars more than they are entitled to under the credit, money that will have to be repaid at tax time. At-risk taxpayers include a broad swath of the public: married couples in which both spouses work; workers with more than one job; retirees who have federal income taxes withheld from their pension payments and Social Security recipients with jobs that provide taxable income.
The Internal Revenue Service acknowledges problems with the withholding tables but has done little to warn average taxpayers. "They need to get the Goodyear blimp out there on this," said Tom Ochsenschlager, vice president of taxation for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. For many, the new tax tables will simply mean smaller-than-expected tax refunds next year, IRS spokesman Terry Lemons said. The average refund was nearly $2,700 this year. But taxpayers who calculate their withholding so they get only small refunds could face an unwelcome tax bill next April, said Jackie Perlman, an analyst with the Tax Institute at H&R Block.
"They are going to get a surprise," she said. Perlman's advice: check your federal withholding to make sure sufficient taxes are being taken out of your pay. If you are married and both spouses work, you might consider having taxes withheld at the higher rate for single filers. If you have multiple jobs, you might consider having extra taxes withheld by one of your employers. You can make that request with a Form W-4.
The IRS has a calculator on its Web site to help taxpayers figure withholding. So do many private tax preparers. Obama has touted the tax credit as one of the big achievements of his first 100 days in office, boasting that 95 percent of working families will qualify in 2009 and 2010. The credit pays workers 6.2 percent of their earned income, up to a maximum of $400 for individuals and $800 for married couples who file jointly. Individuals making more $95,000 and couples making more than $190,000 are ineligible. The tax credit was designed to help boost the economy by getting more money to consumers in their regular paychecks. Employers were required to start using the new withholding tables by April 1.
The tables, however, don't take into account several common categories of taxpayers, experts said. For example:
— A single worker with two jobs making $20,000 a year at each job will get a $400 boost in take-home pay at each of them, for a total of $800. That worker, however, is eligible for a maximum credit of $400, so the remaining $400 will have to be paid back at tax time — either through a smaller refund or a payment to the IRS. The IRS recognized there could be a similar problem for married couples if both spouses work, so it adjusted the withholding tables. The fix, however, was imperfect.
— A married couple with a combined income of $50,000 is eligible for an $800 credit. However, if both spouses work and make more than $13,000, the new withholding tables give them each a $600 boost — for a total of $1,200.
There were 33 million married couples in 2008 in which both spouses worked. That's 55 percent of all married couples, according to the Census Bureau.
— A single college student with a part-time job making $10,000 would get a $400 boost in pay. However, if that student is claimed as a dependent on a parent's tax return, she doesn't qualify for the credit and would have to repay it when she files next year.
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