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Fiscal Cliff

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Taxes to Rise Despite Fiscal Cliff Deal

Most Americans will take home 2 percent less money this year due to a Social Security payroll tax increase.

  Despite a fiscal cliff deal being reached, working Americans will see less money in their paychecks this year. A temporary reduction in the Social Security tax was not reinstated by the federal government, meaning our paychecks will shrink by 2 percent. “When Illinois changed their tax by 2 percent, people really didn’t notice it because Social Security taxes were lowered at the same time,” said accountant David Robbins with Nieminski Robbins and Associates Certified Public Accountants in South Barrington and Chicago. “Now the temporary lowering of the 2 percent is gone so people are going to see less take home pay.” Robbins explained that the first $113,000 of income is taxed under the Social Security payroll tax policy. This means that…

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Dold, Schakowsky Help Avoid Fall From Fiscal Cliff

Dold chairs some of debate as term draws to a close.

North Shore members of Congress joined forces in unusual ways Tuesday to help the country avoid the fiscal cliff after weeks of drama, threats and fear as the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives voted New Year's Day to avert higher taxes for most Americans. After the Senate made its move in the wee hours of the day with an 89-8 tally, the House voted late Tuesday, 257-167, to pass the measure with Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Evanston) and Rep. Robert Dold (R-Kenilworth) on the same side for one of the few times in the 112th Congress.  Earlier: What falling off the fiscal cliff could cost you? That heads off tax increases for about 99 percent of Americans, the Los Angeles Times reported.  Dold joined only 89 other Republicans—and 167 …

SeanS65

5:06 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013

What a bunch of whiners. Man up. You have to pay to play. You are more than welcome to leave this country and go to another to get a perspective of taxes. We have ot s easy in the USA.   more ›

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Poll: What Should Be Done About the 'Fiscal Cliff'?

Tax rate increases and federal budget cuts are set to go into place on Jan. 1 and could cause another recession.

It appears that automatic federal tax increases and budget cuts will occur Jan. 1, CNN reported. The so-called fiscal cliff is a crisis created out of politics. Without congressional action, the Bush tax cuts will disappear and tax rates will rise across the board. According to the National Federation of Independent Business, the 10 percent tax bracket will disappear. Also, the 25, 28, 33 and 35 percent rates would become 28, 31, 36 and 39.6 respectively. A single person with two exemptions earning $50,000 per year will see income taxes increase from $7,103 to $8,551 per year, according to a fiscal cliff calculator published by Bankrate.com. If you want to know the affect on your income, use the Bankrate.com calculator to plug in the …

Thursday, December 27, 2012

How Much Will Falling off the Fiscal Cliff Cost You?

If Congress fails to pass an extension of the Bush era tax cuts by midnight Monday, American paychecks will get smaller. You can use the fiscal cliff calculator to see the impact on your paycheck.

With leaders of Congress becoming more and more skeptical a deal will be reached before midnight Monday to avoid the fiscal cliff, it becomes more likely American paychecks will get smaller Tuesday, according to a story in today’s New York Times. “I have to be very honest,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in the New York Times article. “I don’t know time-wise how it can happen now.” The Senate reconvened today in an unusual session between Christmas and Jan. 1. Even if the Senate passes legislation, the House of Representatives will not come back into session until Sunday barely 24 hours before the deadline, according to a story today on Politico. If no deal is reached, a single person with two exemptions earning $50,000 per year …

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Dan Arenov

11:20 am on Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Hello all, I guess i shouldn't post something like this without providing more details. The idea for this blog, which i've run by the local Patch editor, is to have a small group of people who either lean left or lean right and to be part of a small 'debate' team. We would pick a hot topic each week (maybe pulling from a Brian Slupski news item, etc) on e.g., Monday, and would select one person …   more ›

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Dold Hopes for Fiscal Cliff Deal

North Shore Congressman recounts achievement of his term in what may be one of his last floor speeches.

In what may have been one of his final speeches on the floor of the United States House of Representatives, Rep. Robert Dold (R-Kenilworth) told his colleagues serving in Congress has been one of the proudest achievements of his life. In the weeks remaining in his term, he expressed hope a deal could be structured to keep the country from going over the fiscal cliff of the expiration of the Bush era tax cuts and mandated spending reductions. Earlier: Schneider Beats Dold in 10th District Race “Governing in a democracy is not easy,” Dold said. “It requires compromise. It requires working together. As I’ve often said, putting people before politics and progress before partisanship is the only way we can move this country forward and have a …

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Gary

5:01 pm on Monday, December 3, 2012

We went over the cliff in 1935... we are just about to hit the ground. So far the fall hasn't hurt one bit. In fact, in can be quite a rush as everyone enjoys the weightless illusion that we can all vote ourselves other people's money and live with out worry... right up until we hit the granite bedrock of economic reality. This one's gonna sting.   more ›

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