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So What's in the Stimulus for You? Nothing!
Forbes ^ | March 16, 2009 | Janet Novack

Posted on 03/08/2009 2:45:24 PM PDT by reaganaut1

The $787 billion stimulus includes temporary tax breaks for workers, college students and car and home buyers, but all are denied to higher-income folks. That's because of what's known as phaseouts--the long tradition of curtailing tax breaks as income rises.

Democrats had an excuse for denying the temporary tax cuts to rich folks: They're less likely to spend the extra cash and, anyway, President Barack Obama campaigned on tax cuts for couples earning up to $150,000. But phaseouts aren't just a Democratic game. For years, points out Clint Stretch, managing principal of tax policy at Deloitte Tax, politicians from both parties have been wooing voters with both special-purpose tax breaks and low "advertised rates." The result is--as the table shows--more than two dozen sneaky phaseouts, phase-ins and other provisions that can produce absurdly high marginal rates for some middle-income taxpayers.

Take an example of a single mother with an adjusted gross income of $75,000. She claims the standard deduction and has one high schooler and two kids in college. Under the stimulus package, she'll have her 2009 federal income tax bill chopped to $1,465 from $7,865 thanks to two $2,500 college credits, a $400 worker's stimulus credit and a $1,000 child credit. But if she takes a second job to help pay college bills and her AGI rises to $90,000, she gets no college credits and only $100 of the worker's credit and $250 of the child credit, for a total tax bill of $11,265. That makes the tax rate on the $15,000 of extra earnings 65%--not counting the 7.65% employee share of Social Security and Medicare or any state and local income taxes.

(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government
KEYWORDS: 111th; bho44; bhostimulus; incometax; progressiveincometax; stimulus; taxes; taxrates
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A 65% marginal tax rate for middle-income people will encourage them to work less. Raising marginal rates on the "rich" encourages the lower-income spouse, more often the wife, to stay home. In general, liberals want women to be doing paid work, not staying home taking care of their families, but the tax code they favor encourages the opposite.
1 posted on 03/08/2009 2:45:24 PM PDT by reaganaut1
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To: reaganaut1
What's my stimulus in all of this?

Volcanic anger.


2 posted on 03/08/2009 2:49:00 PM PDT by Viking2002 (The Occupation has begun. God help America.)
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To: reaganaut1

For me ???? BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHa !!!


3 posted on 03/08/2009 2:54:11 PM PDT by Deetes (God Bless the Troops)
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To: reaganaut1
but the tax code they favor encourages the opposite.

No kiddin! Why work extra hard when you won't get it? Now THAT would be the definition of insane. And count on a flood of wealthy and retired folks leaving the U.S...

4 posted on 03/08/2009 2:55:15 PM PDT by John123 (The US may be going down the drain, but everyone else will drown first...)
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To: Viking2002
"Volcanic anger."

High blood pressure now and a desire for revenge, served cold.

5 posted on 03/08/2009 2:56:01 PM PDT by Paladin2 (No, pundits strongly believe that the proper solution is more dilution.)
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To: reaganaut1

Proving once again that the tax code is too complicated for Tax Accountants, but not so complicated that the average Joe would get the same treatment as the Treasury Secretary, who gets a bye!!


6 posted on 03/08/2009 2:57:02 PM PDT by PISANO
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To: Viking2002
Just wait until you get past that into the cold fury stage.

The most dangerous ones are the ones that will look at you calmly while in a rage.

These are also known as high income wage earners getting f#$%ed by these new tax policies.

7 posted on 03/08/2009 2:58:32 PM PDT by Centurion2000 (01-20-2009 : The end of the PAX AMERICANA.)
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To: reaganaut1

The more they squeeze us the more favorable it is for us to tell them to go to Hell. I think we have reached that point.


8 posted on 03/08/2009 3:00:55 PM PDT by CodeToad (Liberalism is Communism, and both are a mental disorder. Grow up.)
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To: reaganaut1

“They’re less likely to spend the extra cash ...”

What the Dems ignore is that the primary reason we are in this recession to begin with is that the “rich” people who own the stocks and the homes took a big hit when the value of those assets fell, and now have in fact tightened up the purse strings as a result. They aren’t going to start spending again until something gives, and Obama apparently won’t let that happen.


9 posted on 03/08/2009 3:01:58 PM PDT by Brilliant
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To: reaganaut1

Starve the beast. Work less, pay less taxes.

Now is the time to become ‘undocmumented’ ... trade or barter for goods and services. I see a black market forming (or expanding rather).


10 posted on 03/08/2009 3:03:14 PM PDT by Lorianne
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To: reaganaut1
A 65% marginal tax rate for middle-income people will encourage them to work less.

Doesn't a socialist society leave only one option anyway?

Pay or wither away and die.

11 posted on 03/08/2009 3:05:27 PM PDT by EGPWS (Trust in God, Question everyone else)
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To: reaganaut1

The problem is how is one supposed to know that they are in danger of triggering some tax threshold that would make it unprofitable to work that extra overtime?

Middle class people need to keep a tax accountant on retainer year round just to make sure they don’t shoot themselves in the foot because of these silly tax parameters.

Flat tax now!


12 posted on 03/08/2009 3:05:34 PM PDT by Incorrigible (If I lead, follow me; If I pause, push me; If I retreat, kill me.)
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To: reaganaut1

I’ll get about the same as I got from the Wall Street bailout.


13 posted on 03/08/2009 3:06:08 PM PDT by Wolfie
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To: Lorianne
Starve the beast. Work less, pay less taxes.

Reference post #11.

14 posted on 03/08/2009 3:06:40 PM PDT by EGPWS (Trust in God, Question everyone else)
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To: reaganaut1
So What's in the Stimulus for You? Nothing!

Not true! I received higher taxes and a ton of debt!
15 posted on 03/08/2009 3:07:19 PM PDT by etradervic (Where Obama goes, death follows.)
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To: reaganaut1

It’s cooking. The eruption will come. I still volunteer to operate the Guillotine.


16 posted on 03/08/2009 3:08:02 PM PDT by Da Coyote
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To: reaganaut1

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again:

O ne

B ig

A ss

M istake

A merica!


17 posted on 03/08/2009 3:08:19 PM PDT by 2harddrive (...House a TOTAL Loss.....)
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To: reaganaut1

It’s cooking. The eruption will come. I still volunteer to operate the Guillotine.


18 posted on 03/08/2009 3:09:22 PM PDT by Da Coyote
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To: reaganaut1

- TAXES
R
E
H
G
I
H


19 posted on 03/08/2009 3:12:14 PM PDT by blueyon (Obama, the honeymoon is over, I WANT A DIVORCE!)
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To: Viking2002

don’t get angry. you’ll make out a lot better than all the rich idiots who voted for Obama thinking he would be cool and sophisticated.


20 posted on 03/08/2009 3:15:09 PM PDT by ari-freedom (Hail to the Dork!)
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