Tuesday, January 15, 2013
January 15 will be the first paycheck of 2013 for many workers. Did you notice the higher taxes you're now paying?
In 2013, the 15th of January isn't just halfway through the first month of the year. For many people who are paid twice a month, the 15th will be their first paycheck of the New Year - and the first check they've gotten since the end of the FICA tax holiday. Remember the Fiscal Cliff? Part of the battle between President Obama and the Republican Congress included whether the employee's share of that temporary tax reduction would be allowed to lapse, and thus hike taxes on middle-class workers. The Fiscal Cliff resolution wound up including the expiration of a 2 percent Social Security temporary tax reduction, the result of which is now reflected in everyone's paycheck. Now, the employee's share of FICA tax is 6.2 percent, up from the 4.2 …
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
A Patch reader says you fix the debt by slashing entitlement spending first.
To the Editor: I noticed an ad while I was looking through your site tonight. Starbuck's and Patch appear to be working with an organization called FixtheDebt.org which is concerned with the "fiscal cliff" we've been told we're approaching. As I'm sure you're aware, the Senate voted yea on a measure to push the fiscal cliff back another two years. the meantime, what do Patch, Starbuck's, and FixTheDebt.org propose to do about this situation? It sounds nice that you want to do "something," but your advertisement is long on telling us that "something" should happen, but short on telling us what that "something" is. Our current economic situation requires real spending cuts now. Of course the first thing some people talk about is cutting …
Sunday, December 30, 2012
The financial deadline looms in Washington, with no deal yet made. Check this primer, and share your questions and thoughts.
With Christmas 2012 over, one reality check is that the looming "fiscal cliff" deadline is just a few days away. On December 31, tax cuts dating to the George W. Bush presidential term are scheduled to expire, and President Obama and congressional leaders have not reached a compromise. Of course, that means tax bills would increase for many middle- and upper-class taxpayers. And that means paycheck withholding for many workers would change, leaving them with less take-home pay in the new year. Apparently, though, there will be no immediate change in withholding tables, while the situation is unresolved. According to John Tuzynski, the IRS’ chief of employment tax policy, employers should continue to use 2012 withholding tables and …
Gordo K
4:08 pm on Wednesday, January 2, 2013
This Patch reader is absolutely right, as was Ronald Reagan. But some politicians want to build the constituency (already large) which depends upon not only entitlements in the form of the dole, but all government jobs with retirement benefits that will continue their burden on the taxpayers for many years to come. more ›