Tax Law Archives - Page 8 of 41

Mortgage Interest Deduction & Key Tax Breaks at Risk as Panel Looks at Cuts

Wall St. Journal: “Sacrosanct tax breaks, including deductions on mortgage interest, remain on the table just weeks before the deficit commission issues recommendations on policies to pare back with the aim of balancing the budget by 2015. The tax benefits are hugely popular with the public but they have drawn the panel’s focus, in part because the White House has said these and other breaks cost the government about $1 trillion a year.”

What’s the Biggest Tax Mistake That Might Be Made This Year? A Freakonomics Quorum

New York Times: “We asked some smart tax people a simple question: What’s the biggest potential tax policy mistake that might be made this year?”

Expiration of Bush Tax Cuts will Hit Poorest Hardest

The Hill: “Low-income workers stand to lose the most if lawmakers fail to reach a consensus on the Bush-era tax cuts, according to a new report from the Tax Foundation. The report states that on Jan. 1 the doubling of the child tax credit, increased standard deductions and income credits and the creation of the 10 percent tax bracket — all of which primarily aimed at non-wealthy taxpayers — will vanish if gridlock persists in Washington.”

President Obama’s Tax Piracy

The American Spectator: “Among the bonehead increases that beckon to shove the economy back into recession is a nearly 20% increase in the top two income tax rates, counting the phase-out of deductions and exemptions. The top capital gains tax rate is scheduled to soar by nearly 60%, counting the application of Obamacare’s new 3.8% tax on investment income. The tax rate on dividends is scheduled to nearly triple, from 15% to 43.4%, counting the new Obamacare tax as well. The Obamacare legislation also increased the Medicare HI payroll tax rate by 62% for the nation’s employers and investors. On our current course, the death tax will rise from the grave next year with a 55% top rate. . . . “

“A family of four earning $50,000 per year will pay more than $2,100 in higher taxes. A single mom earning $36,000 per year will pay over $1,100 more in taxes. Married senior citizens earning $40,000 per year will pay more than $1,400 in higher taxes.”

Delays to Tax Tables May Dent Paychecks

Wall St. Journal: “Lack of congressional action on 2011 income taxes may force the Treasury Department to make unprecedented moves to prevent U.S. workers from seeing large tax increases in their January paychecks. The issue: 2011 tax-withholding tables. Treasury officials usually release the tables, which determine the take-home pay of millions of wage-earners, by mid-November because it takes payroll processors weeks to adjust their systems before Jan. 1.”