Hooplah over alleged middle class tax hikes-info

Posted: Feb 6, 2010

Tax cuts for individuals Total: $237 billion 1. $116 billion: New payroll tax credit of $400 per worker and $800 per couple in 2009 and 2010. Phaseout begins at $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for joint filers.[27] 2. $70 billion: Alternative minimum tax: a one year increase in AMT floor to $70,950 for joint filers for 2009.[27] $15 billion: Expansion of child tax credit: A $1,000 credit to more families (even those that do not make enough money to pay income taxes). 3. $14 billion: Expanded college credit to provide a $2,500 expanded tax credit for college tuition and related expenses for 2009 and 2010. The credit is phased out for couples making more than $160,000. 4. $6.6 billion: Homebuyer credit: $8,000 refundable credit for all homes bought between 1/1/2009 and 12/1/2009 and repayment provision repealed for homes purchased in 2009 and held more than three years. This only applies to first-time homebuyers.[39] 5. $4.7 billion: Excluding from taxation the first $2,400 a person receives in unemployment compensation benefits in 2009. 6. $4.7 billion: Expanded earned income tax credit to increase the earned income tax credit � which provides money to low income workers � for families with at least three children. 7. $4.3 billion: Home energy credit to provide an expanded credit to homeowners who make their homes more energy-efficient in 2009 and 2010. Homeowners could recoup 30 percent of the cost up to $1,500 of numerous projects, such as installing energy-efficient windows, doors, furnaces and air conditioners. 8. $1.7 billion: for deduction of sales tax from car purchases, not interest payments phased out for incomes above $250,000. Tax cuts for companies Total: $51 billion 1. $15 billion: Allowing companies to use current losses to offset profits made in the previous five years, instead of two, making them eligible for tax refunds. 2. $13 billion: to extend tax credits for renewable energy production (until 2014). 3. $11 billion: Government contractors: Repeal a law that takes effect in 2012, requiring government agencies to withhold three percent of payments to contractors to help ensure they pay their tax bills. Repealing the law would cost $11 billion over 10 years, in part because the government could not earn interest by holding the money throughout the year. 4. $7 billion: Repeal bank credit: Repeal a Treasury provision that allowed firms that buy money-losing banks to use more of the losses as tax credits to offset the profits of the merged banks for tax purposes. The change would increase taxes on the merged banks by $7 billion over 10 years. 5. $5 billion: Bonus depreciation which extends a provision allowing businesses buying equipment such as computers to speed up its depreciation through 2009. http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:O_T0MlQfT5AJ:tax.cchgroup.com/Legislation/House-Senate-Recovery-Act-2009.pdf+House+Conference+report+111+recovery+act+tax+cut+section&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShLaLgHGbkTAdnjYLhqnwAg8i8sNvZ-bydnFW03HNNmkILTteaTPDqtrKV1QlC-CrohpWaXG7iFMdhnLDFuYA3Lo-0TEJ5tSllC5-89QaRpWdI_MaL52TP3mRahHbKINm_vcTme&sig=AHIEtbRWzt-WvPvDD9vG60e0wYnV4KJ_Ug http://www.womenof.com/ARRA_of_2009_Questions__Answers-Article.aspx http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Recovery_and_Reinvestment_Act_of_2009#cite_ref-handwritten1_26-0;