Before we kiss 2009 a fond farewell, with all its horrors, keep in mind what other goodies we leave behind -- tax breaks. We are now entering the tax part of Obama's 'Tax and Spend' plan. You know how he loves to say "My Plan'- we are going to feel the squeeze of the vice he has put our country in. Not that we haven't suffered that pinch already. Now it really starts.
Not extending the exclusion of tax on unemployment compensation benefits will hit hard, with 7 million people (officially) unemployed, along with not reducing estimated tax payments for small businesses. (I guess there is some positive, the other 7 to 11 million no longer employed but out of the system at least won’t have to pay the taxes.)
Whatever happens, we must keep up the momentum. Eleven months in politics is a long time, and the 2010 elections will be critical. Keeping a watchful eye on the machinations in Congress is like keeping the wheels oiled, and letting them know we are now watching how they do their job will also keep the pressure on them.
They are cleaning our clock, and it must be stopped.
The Heritage Foundation writes about these tax hits:
Happy Tax Year!
January 1, 2010
While millions of Americans are more than ready to put 2009 behind them, they should know that Congress failed to reauthorize dozens of tax breaks for individuals and businesses before the Members scurried home for the Holidays. These “expiring provisions” affect every American in one way or another as individuals or businesses. By allowing them to lapse, Congress has enacted tax increases at time when these taxpayers can least afford it.
The House has passed legislation (H.R. 4213) that would have extended 63 current tax provisions, but the Senate failed to bring this bill to a vote. Thus, all of these provisions expired at midnight last night. Notable provisions as reported today by Tax Notes include:
- Deduction of state and local general sales taxes (section 164) (Personal Tax Incentives)
- Additional standard deduction, up to $500 for individuals and $1,000 for couples, for state and local property taxes (section 63) (Personal Tax Incentives)
- Research tax credit and alternative simplified credit (section 41) (General Business Tax Incentives)
- New markets tax credit (section 45D) (Community Assistance Provisions)
- Empowerment zone incentives (sections 1391 and 1202) (Community Assistance Provisions)
- Renewal community tax incentives (sections 1400E, 1400F, 1400I, and 1400J) (Community Assistance Provisions)
- District of Columbia Investment Incentives (sections 1400, 1400A, 1400B, and 1400C) (Community Assistance Provisions)
- Net disaster loss designation and $500 limit per casualty for personal casualty losses attributed to federally declared natural disasters (section 165) (General Disaster Relief Provisions)
- Expensing for qualified disaster expenses (section 198A) (General Disaster Relief Provisions)
- Biodiesel and renewable diesel incentives (section 40A) (Energy Incentives)
- Alternative motor vehicle credit for heavy hybrids (section 30B) (Energy Incentives)
Although the House has acted and passed its version of the Tax Extenders Act of 2009, the Senate failed to act on similar legislation, as a result the following additional key tax provisions will expire:
- Increased exemption levels for the individual alternative minimum tax (section 55) and personal tax credits allowed against the AMT (section 26)
- Exclusion of unemployment compensation benefits from gross income (section 85)
- Alternative fuel mixture tax credit (section 6426(e))
- Reduced estimated tax payments for small businesses (section 6654(d)(1)(D))
The Senate has had a lot on its plate this year. But it is still unacceptable that they have stalled on the chance to extend these tax provisions that affect every American. By allowing these tax provisions to expire, taxes will rise on many individuals and businesses, and for some of these groups, a punitively steep tax hike.
At the very least, we hope for a New Year’s Resolution from Congress that it acts swiftly in 2010 on passing legislation to amend and extend tax laws that assist every American individual and business which will lead to a stronger, robust economy.
Even better, would be if Congress reformed the entire tax code and brought us a tax system based on one rate, applied once to all income, and in a form every taxpayer can understand. However, that may be asking too much in one New Year’s Resolution.
Some things we can be thankful for is that God answered our prayers and stopped Obama (at least for now) from signing the Copenhagen Treaty and thereby ceding away our sovereignty through ClimateGate and then emphasizing the cooling trend to those slow learners by creating record snow storms in both Copenhagen and Washington DC on either end of the conference.
And thus far we have avoided the passing of Obamacare… and it can still be avoided. So rest up over the weekend and ready yourself for the continuation of the fight. Many have pressured their representatives and threatened them with loss of their offices, as they returned home for the holidays. So this fight is not over.
Cap and Trade … Tax and Gov’t Controlled healthcare will be the largest taxes and loss of freedoms this country has ever seen, making the other taxes listed above look like chump change and make us, the American people, look like the chumps!
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