TheHeretic
Posts: 19100
Joined: 3/25/2007
From: California, USA
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quote:
ORIGINAL: rulemylife
quote:
ORIGINAL: TheHeretic
Yep. Just what I expected...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Millions of Americans enjoying their small windfall from President Barack Obama's "Making Work Pay" tax credit are in for an unpleasant surprise next spring.
The government is going to want some of that money back.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/INSIDE-WASHINGTON-Rude-apf-15091434.html?.v=1
Come on, just what you expected?
You take one line out of context from the article and neglect to mention that the government, the IRS specifically, is adjusting its rules NOT to take back any of the stimulus payments but to take back money that people were NOT entitled to under the stimulus plan, but would receive more because of the way the tax code was written.
From your link:
--A single worker with two jobs making $20,000 a year at each job will get a $400 boost in take-home pay at each of them, for a total of $800. That worker, however, is eligible for a maximum credit of $400, so the remaining $400 will have to be paid back at tax time -- either through a smaller refund or a payment to the IRS.
The IRS recognized there could be a similar problem for married couples if both spouses work, so it adjusted the withholding tables. The fix, however, was imperfect.
-- A married couple with a combined income of $50,000 is eligible for an $800 credit. However, if both spouses work and make more than $13,000, the new withholding tables give them each a $600 boost -- for a total of $1,200.
What did I take out of context, RML? I snipped the lead of the link to an article, that goes on to explain very clearly how the change in the withholding is going to affect the tax refund next year.
Was my snip out of context with this part of the article?
For many, the new tax tables will simply mean smaller-than-expected tax refunds next year, IRS spokesman Terry Lemons said. The average refund was nearly $2,700 this year.
But taxpayers who calculate their withholding so they get only small refunds could face an unwelcome tax bill next April, said Jackie Perlman, an analyst with the Tax Institute at H&R Block.
Am I supposed to find comfort and peace of mind in this?
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner ... responded that Treasury and IRS understood the concerns and were "exploring ways to mitigate that effect."
This is the question I raised in post #3 of this thread:
Now, I've heard he has changed the withholding rules, leaving a few extra dollars in the take-home pay of working folks, but what impact that is going to have on next years refund is nowhere to be seen.
It's probably about the worst savings plan available, but for many people, it's the closest thing they have to one. The gov't takes too much from the weekly check, then a lump comes back the following spring. Maybe a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars. Money they count on for the family vacation, or a down payment on a new car. Mine, just for an example, traditionally goes into a back account for unexpected expenses. What are those checks going to look like next year?
Being a cynical sort, I had a theory about what the answer would be. This is it.
Maybe before you go leaping to accusations, you should see what the context was to begin with?
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RE: Obama Tax Cuts? - 
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