Wednesday, January 2, 2013
In his final days in office, Senator Scott Brown threw his support behind a new deal of fiscal cliff plan.
Calling the deal on the fiscal cliff "not perfect," outgoing US Senator Scott Brown (R-Wrentham) endorsed the plan in his final days in office. He says it ‘‘protects 99 percent of Americans from a massive tax increase," according to an Associated Press report. Brown had supported a no-tax pledge. The deal raises taxes on individual incomes over $400,000 and over $450,00 for household incomes and a portion of estates more than $5 million. The comprise allows Congress to have more time to work on government spending.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Congress is so focused on the fiscal cliff, the farm bill has yet to be renewed.
Come Jan. 1, there is a threat that milk prices could rise to $6 to $8 a gallon if Congress does not pass a new farm bill that amends farm policy dating back to the Truman presidency, reported the New York Times. If Congress does not renew the Farm Bill by Monday, Dec. 31, the milk price formula reverts back to 1949, reported CBS Boston. On average, a gallon of milk costs $3.65, according to the dairy industry. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said without a farm bill renewal farmers will be in a hurry to sell to the government, creating a shortage in the stores. It is estimated the price of milk could go as high as $8, he told the Capital Press. If the farm bill is not renewed the government will be forced to buy milk at inflated …
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 Dec. 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 personal …
Friday, December 28, 2012
President Obama and Congress have just a few days to avert automatic tax increases and spending cuts. A number of Massachusetts Congressman suggest cutting nuclear programs instead.
Starbucks baristas are writing "come together" on all cups in the Washington, DC, area to encourage Congress and the President to come together to fix the fiscal cliff issue. For more information about this initiative, go to www.patch.com/fixthedebt. Congress and President Obama are racing against the clock this week as they make one last attempt to hammer out a deal to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff” the U.S. government is set to go over on New Year’s Day. Without a compromise deal to lower the deficit, the government will face a self-imposed deadline that triggers both spending cuts and higher taxes. Congress itself set the Jan. 1 deadline after failing to come to a budget compromise earlier this year. On Jan. 1, the George W. Bush-…
Friday, December 21, 2012
Instead, those polled say, increase taxes on the rich and end corporate subsidies.
As Congress wrestles with how to avoid the imminent fiscal cliff, a poll finds that Massachusetts voters strongly favor increased taxes on the rich, less corporate welfare and no cuts in social security, Medicare or Medicaid. "I think that this survey really gives us a clear view of voters expectations of their elected officials," said Jason Stephany of MassUniting, a coalition of community groups, neighborhoods, faith organizations and workers advocating for good jobs, corporate accountability. MassUniting conducted the poll along with Public Policy Polling. It was conducted from Nov. 27 through Nov. 29 and included 638 Massachusetts voters. "Essentially, the big thing that this poll tells us is that this election was not a fluke or a …
Friday, December 14, 2012
A study finds that Bay Staters will pay more if the child and college tuition tax credits expire.
More than half a million Massachusetts families will pay more in taxes if the federal government doesn't reach an agreement on the tax code by the end of the year, a study reported in the Boston Globe found. The child tax credit is set to expire if Congress doesn't reach a deal. The tax credit affects 562,000 lower- and middle-class familes, currently saving each about $1,000 a year. Another group of tax credits set to expire includes college tuition credits, an increase that would affect 217,000 families, according to the story. Small businesses would be affected if the federal government falls off the "fiscal cliff," too. If no deal is brokered, next year these businesses will only be able to claim $25,000 in deductions on new …
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Gov. Patrick has proposed a wide-ranging plan to cover a budget gap that he blamed on the upcoming "fiscal cliff" created by Congress and lower-than-expected state receipts.
The local aid reductions proposed by Gov. Deval Patrick to help close an expected $540 million state budget gap could mean a $70,000 to $100,000 hit for Braintree if approved by lawmakers. Patrick blamed the mid-year cuts on the failure by President Obama and members of Congress to avert a "fiscal cliff" of massive federal spending decreases. The reductions, scheduled to begin gradually in January, were put in place after a Congressional "super committee" failed to reach a deal on reducing the budget deficit. “The uncertainty of the fiscal cliff and the resulting slow down in growth, is the direct cause of our budget challenges," Patrick said in a statement. In the statement released on Tuesday, Patrick said that the administration revised…
vick@vick.com
8:26 am on Monday, December 31, 2012
I still don't get it what why will price go up????????? explain in simple language to a teenager who don't understand all this politics and love chocolate milk. more ›