Posted on 04/23/2012 4:52:06 PM PDT by Kaslin
Duplicity: More than 30 years ago, lawmakers made a deal with Americans: Set up a retirement nest egg and we'll let you fill it with tax-free money. A financially troubled Washington now plans to break its word.
Nothing brought ordinary Americans into the world of investing like 401(k)s. Named after a subsection of the Internal Revenue Code, these retirement savings accounts have become a wildly popular alternative to traditional employer pensions, and are today owned by a sizeable majority of Americans at or near retirement.
Through 401(k)s, an employee not the company he or she works for decides just how aggressive or cautious he wants to be with money set aside for the autumnal years. Employers usually offer a series of stock, bond and money market investment funds, allowing a worker to choose and mix as he or she likes.
Not only would Americans see their own retirement accounts grow as the years passed, but they could rest easy knowing that the interest earned in their 401(k) won't be taxed before withdrawal at retirement time or, in the case of the after-tax dollars in a Roth 401(k), that their money can be withdrawn tax-free.
But it's not the '80s anymore. It's 2012 and there are trillion-dollar-plus deficits to deal with, more than $15.6 trillion in outstanding government debt, and total U.S. unfunded liabilities of more than $65 trillion. Time for politicians to start looking for new sources of revenue.
No one should be surprised that Uncle Sam's wandering eye has noticed the $18 trillion in 401(k) accounts and other middle-class tax breaks, as the New York Post alerted its readers to over the weekend.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.investors.com ...
Damn thieves in Washington up to no good again.
And what will the tax rate be 15 to 20 years from now? No one knows.
Those words, "for now", needed some emphasis.
85%
This is a Dem idea..and DOA. It will never pass the House
It will trigger Civil War II.
Start taxing welfare benefits, EBT’s, food stamps-as-income, etc., etc., instead of trying to buy all those tribal parasite votes with “Whitey’s Money”.
Yes. Why would you still invest in them if you are going to be taxed on it from the get go.
OK worker bees - we'll let you work hard and collect some honey into your hives. Once we need it, we will take it.
Golden Rule- those who make the rules, get your gold.
I’d not be surprised if the Roth suddenly becomes taxable ,too.
Laura DAndrea Tyson is an economic adviser to Obama. She served in the Clinton Administration where she authored an idea to tax Employer Contributions to 401ks as current income and a retroactive tax of 15% on 401ks to make up for them not being taxed in the first place. Read Mrs. Tysons Fried Economics in National Review 1993.
No Mans life, liberty, or property is safe while Congress is in session.....Mark Twain
For IRAs it’s probably time to buy out your LOUSY, non-contributing partner by converting to a Roth...
They are not really interested in taxing the funds. We should be relieved if all they wanted was to tax them, and we would gladly pay those taxes. They want the funds themselves. They will take all private retirement accounts, and roll them into Social Security, and then dole them back out at an alarmingly low rate. This is necessary, because it isn’t fair that people who make sacrifices and save their money should have more money then people who don’t save. 51% of the voters agree with them, and besides, it will help save Social Security for everyone. Aren’t you happy for that?
I have an account with Bank of Mattress. I jumped on it last spring and got a real bounce out of it. Solved all my tax problems.
The first thread is from Sunday
Feds eye retirement-fund tax to cut $16 trillion-plus deficit (Obama’s war on savers)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2875052/posts
Fox: Government considering adding taxes 401Ks
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2875401/posts
Congress Coming After Your Retirement Savings Next?
http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/1579478247001/congress-coming-after-your-retirement-savings-next
Is Your Retirement Savings Safe From Uncle Sam?
http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/1579478250001/is-your-retirement-savings-safe-from-uncle-sam
“It will trigger Civil War II.”
Not likely.
There is lots of money in those accounts, but there are not that many people who have a significant amount of money in those accounts.
The majority of people in the US would think it was a great idea to soak the rich some more.
they're screwing all the workers by now taking our legacies from us....
years of doing without, not going on huge vacations, and not running up credit cards so you could have all the newest toys and gadgets and cars...
and for what?....so now your little pittance of savings can be obscounded with...
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