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The Library => Haley Center Basement => Topic started by: Jumbo on January 25, 2008, 01:55:48 AM
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You could get your tax rebate by May
Rebates for families, business tax cuts to boost the economy
Lawmakers announce tax rebate deal
updated 5:44 p.m. CT, Thurs., Jan. 24, 2008
WASHINGTON - With unprecedented speed and cooperation, Congress and the White House forged a deal Thursday to begin rushing tax rebates of $600 to $1,200 to most tax filers by spring, hoping they will spend the money just as quickly and jolt the ailing economy to life.
Rebates would be even higher for families with children.
The one-time tax rebates are at the center of a hard-won agreement to pump about $150 billion into the economy this year and perhaps stave off the first recession since 2001. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Republican leader John Boehner and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson worked out the details in negotiations that stretched into Wednesday night at the Capitol.
About two-thirds of the tax relief would go out in rebate checks to 117 million families beginning in May. Businesses would get $50 billion in incentives to invest in new plants and equipment.
Individual taxpayers would get up to $600 in rebates, working couples $1,200 and those with children an additional $300 per child under the agreement. In a key concession to Democrats, 35 million families who make at least $3,000 but don't pay taxes would get $300 rebates.
The rebates would phase out gradually for individuals whose adjusted gross income exceeds $75,000 and for couples with incomes above $150,000. Contributions to IRA and 401(k) retirement accounts and health savings accounts would not count toward the income limit.
"This package will lead to higher consumer spending and increased business investment," Bush said in hailing the agreement.
The bill will go straight to the House floor next week and on to the Senate, where some Democrats hope to add elements such as extending unemployment benefits for workers whose benefits have run out.
Who gets what
How Americans in different financial situations would fare under the rebate plan proposed by House leaders and the White House.
— An individual with $2,500 in earned income in 2007: Disqualified because income fell below the $3,000 threshold. No rebate.
— A married couple with no children, with adjusted gross income of $100,000 in 2007: Would qualify for the full $1,200 couples. A $1,200 rebate.
— A worker with one child, who earned $9,000 and owed no taxes in 2007: Would qualify for the $300 rebate available to individuals who pay no taxes but earned at least $3,000, plus an additional $300 for the child. A $600 rebate.
— A couple with income of $145,000 in 2007, with three children: Would qualify for the full $1,200 for couples, plus $300 for each child. A $2,100 rebate.
— A couple with income of $160,000 in 2007 with two children: Would qualify for a partial rebate, reduced by 5 percent for every $1,000 in income above the $150,000 threshold. An $1,800 rebate — $1,200 for the couple plus $300 per child — would go down by 50 percent for this family. A $900 rebate.
— A couple with income of $200,000 and four children: Disqualified because their income exceeded $174,000, the phase-out limit. No rebate.
Indeed, many Democrats, such as Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, the liberal lion of the Senate, were deeply unhappy that Pelosi agreed to jettison that proposal in late-stage talks, as well as plans to increase food stamp payments.
"I do not understand, and cannot accept, the resistance of President Bush and Republican leaders to including an extension of unemployment benefits for those who are without work through no fault of their own," Rangel said.
The administration signaled it's unlikely to welcome efforts to broaden the measure, and pressure was mounting in the Senate to accept the hard-won deal.
"The American people are not going to have a lot of patience for taking time," Paulson said.
If the Senate gives quick approval, the first rebate payments could begin going out in May and most people could have them by July, he said.
It has become increasingly clear that the economy is teetering on the edge of recession, if it hasn't already gone over that line. The crisis in subprime home loans has hit hard at many lending institutions, cramping credit for almost everyone else. Economic growth has all but disappeared, companies are reporting big losses and Wall Street had been tumbling day after day — even after emergency Federal Reserve rate-cutting — until Wednesday's hopeful talk about the stimulus deal. The Dow Jones industrial average was up more than 100 points Thursday after soaring nearly 300 the day before.
In addition to concerns openly expressed by lawmakers, members of Congress are not eager to run for re-election this fall with voters fearful of losing jobs in a recession.
For businesses, the stimulus measure would allow them to immediate tax write-offs for 50 percent of the purchase price of plants and other capital equipment and permit small businesses to write off additional purchases of equipment. A provision to allow businesses suffering losses now to reclaim taxes previously paid was dropped in end-stage talks.
Pelosi, D-Calif., agreed to drop increases in food stamp and unemployment benefits in exchange for gaining the rebates of at least $300 for almost everyone earning a paycheck, including those who make too little to pay income taxes.
Who gets what
How Americans in different financial situations would fare under the rebate plan proposed by House leaders and the White House.
— An individual with $2,500 in earned income in 2007: Disqualified because income fell below the $3,000 threshold. No rebate.
— A married couple with no children, with adjusted gross income of $100,000 in 2007: Would qualify for the full $1,200 couples. A $1,200 rebate.
— A worker with one child, who earned $9,000 and owed no taxes in 2007: Would qualify for the $300 rebate available to individuals who pay no taxes but earned at least $3,000, plus an additional $300 for the child. A $600 rebate.
— A couple with income of $145,000 in 2007, with three children: Would qualify for the full $1,200 for couples, plus $300 for each child. A $2,100 rebate.
— A couple with income of $160,000 in 2007 with two children: Would qualify for a partial rebate, reduced by 5 percent for every $1,000 in income above the $150,000 threshold. An $1,800 rebate — $1,200 for the couple plus $300 per child — would go down by 50 percent for this family. A $900 rebate.
— A couple with income of $200,000 and four children: Disqualified because their income exceeded $174,000, the phase-out limit. No rebate.
"I can't say that I'm totally pleased with the package, but I do know that it will help stimulate the economy. But if it does not, then there will be more to come," Pelosi said. She said that House Democrats may act on other proposals to stimulate the economy, particularly if it worsens in coming weeks.
Boehner said the agreement "was not easy for the two of us and our respective caucuses."
"You know, many Americans believe that Washington is broken," the Ohio Republican said. "But I think this agreement and I hope that this agreement will show the American people that we can fix it."
Paulson said he would work with the House and Senate to enact the package and declared that "speed is of the essence." He cautioned that "the work is far from over."
The agreement left some lawmakers in both parties with a bitter taste, and they complained that their leaders had sacrificed too much in the interest of striking a deal. Many senior Democrats were particularly upset that the package omitted the unemployment extension.
Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the goal is to send the package to the White House by Feb. 15 for Bush's signature, but he noted the Senate was likely to try to add more spending.
Bush had supported larger rebates of $800-$1,600, but his plan would have left out 30 million working households of people who earn paychecks but don't make enough to pay income tax, according to calculations by the Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center. An additional 19 million households would receive only partial rebates under Bush's initial proposal.
To address the mortgage crisis, the package raises the limit on Federal Housing Administration loans from $362,790 to as high as $729,750 in expensive areas, allowing more subprime mortgage holders to refinance into federally insured loans. To widen the availability of mortgages across the country, it also provides a one-year boost to the cap on loans that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy, from $417,000 up to $729,750 in high-cost markets.
© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
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$1,800 = :wave:
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1,200= :clap: :cheers: :bow: :bar:
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Well that makes a lot of sense...
Families who contribute the most get nothing. Families who contribute nothing, approximately 35 million, get $300. And, a logic-deficient determination for the distribution in between. This whole rebate concept is such a farce. The losers steal money from everyone else. The middle class gets an early refund for a portion of a tax bill they're going to pay anyway, and the achievers get fleeced.
AND, the DEMS want more! Let's see here... Unemployment is still less than 4.6% which is virtually nil in a dynamic economy. Those who want to work have jobs, but the Dems think that we need to extend unemployment benefits to the deadbeats. Of course, Rangel believes that they "are without work through no fault of their own." Sorry Charlie... Even in your district, the uneducated, unskilled, do-nothing Ghetto lifestyle translates to unemployable. For the Dems, they're constituents. To most Americans, they're festering boils on the ass of humanity... as I am suggesting, Liberal Democrats.
I think we should just abort these people. After all, they're just unviable tissue masses. To the gas chamber!!! I promise; it's just a "Fitty Sent" concert...
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$1,500 :wave:
Now, if I can convince the wife to let me have it I can get that new 46" Samsung LCD.
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Let's try this again... It's not free money! It's not a tax cut. I'll bet that you're actually going to end up paying for it. Essentially, it's nothing more than an advance on the tax return that you would expect to receive in April 2009 for the income earned in the 2008 calendar year. Here's another secret... If you don't normally receive a tax return that large, you're going to end up owing the money back. Like I said, this is a farce. It will only fool the uneducated dolts into spending money that they wouldn't ordinarily spend.
Don't get me wrong; it does provide economic stimulus, but only because some of us believe that the money will burn a hole in your pocket if you don't spend it as soon as you receive it.
Here's something to consider. If you could decide who receives a "rebate" and who doesn't, how would you distribute the economic stimulus? Who would spend the money in areas that would benefit the American economy the most? I'm guessing that Bubba the Bama Fan with his $300 check running through the aisles at Wallmart isn't going to provide the "stimulus" that we would want.
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Let's try this again... It's not free money! It's not a tax cut. I'll bet that you're actually going to end up paying for it. Essentially, it's nothing more than an advance on the tax return that you would expect to receive in April 2009 for the income earned in the 2008 calendar year. Here's another secret... If you don't normally receive a tax return that large, you're going to end up owing the money back. Like I said, this is a farce. It will only fool the uneducated dolts into spending money that they wouldn't ordinarily spend.
Don't get me wrong; it does provide economic stimulus, but only because some of us believe that the money will burn a hole in your pocket if you don't spend it as soon as you receive it.
Here's something to consider. If you could decide who receives a "rebate" and who doesn't, how would you distribute the economic stimulus? Who would spend the money in areas that would benefit the American economy the most? I'm guessing that Bubba the Bama Fan with his $300 check running through the aisles at Wallmart isn't going to provide the "stimulus" that we would want.
HEY! It's Wal Marks.
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HEY! It's Wal Marks.
Thuh Wal Marks
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Thuh Wal Marks
After I hit up Wally world for a bill, the rest goes for my liposuction!
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damnit
600
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$1,500 :wave:
Now, if I can convince the wife to let me have it I can get that new 46" Samsung LCD.
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/104438/Rebate-Checks-Could-Spark-Urge-to-Splurge (http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/104438/Rebate-Checks-Could-Spark-Urge-to-Splurge)
We here at TigersX try to help you with overall, long term wealth instead of opting for short term gratitude and putting yourself further in the hole. It will be interesting to see how this whole process affects the economy in '08/'09.
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I'm going to spend the money like it's 1999! :vn: