Monday, January 14, 2013
You may have been spared from paying more in income taxes, but your paycheck may have taken a hit after the Fiscal Cliff Tax Deal was reached earlier this month. Here's all you need to know...
If you take a close look at your first 2013 paystub you will probably notice that Uncle Sam took a bigger chunk of your pay for Social Security. Taxpayers got a temporary holiday from paying the full 6.2 percent beginning in 2011, but that is over thanks to the fiscal cliff tax deal reached earlier this month. That legislation stopped the income tax hikes for most Americans, but the Social Security payroll tax holiday was allowed to expire. AOL explains it like this: Social security is financed by a 12.4 percent tax on wages, with employers paying half and workers paying the other half. During the temporary holiday, the employee contribution was reduced to 4.2 percent in 2011 and 2012, saving a typical family about $1,000 a year. To see …
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Sen. Ron Johnson is Wisconsin's Republican senator in Washington, D.C. This commentary is taken from his weekly e-newsletter to constituents.
Although I strongly prefer extension of current tax rates for all Americans, I supported the compromise bill that protects 99% of Wisconsinites from an income tax increase, limits the death tax, and prevents a dramatic increase in milk prices. It is by no means a perfect piece of legislation. The revenue raised by this legislation will equal approximately 7% of projected deficits. It is now time for President Obama and his Democrat colleagues to show the American public their plan to close the other 93% of the deficit. Our nation's debt now stands at $16.4 trillion, and has reached its statutory limit. We blew through the $2.1 trillion increase in the debt ceiling granted in August 2011 in only 17 months. This is clearly unsustainable, and…
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
None of the U.S. elected officials from Wisconsin particularly cared for the deal hammered out to avoid the "fiscal cliff" — and that includes those who voted for it.
The "fiscal cliff" was averted Tuesday when the U.S. House handily passed a bill approved a day earlier in the U.S. Senate that raised taxes on the wealthy and staved off a tax increase for the middle-class. The bill passed 257-167 in the House, a comfortable 40 votes more than what was needed to become law. Among the congressmen serving southeastern Wisconsin, U.S. Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI 5th District) and Tom Petri (R-WI 6th District) voted "no" on the measure, while U.S. Reps. Paul Ryan (R- WI 1st District) and Gwen Moore (D- WI 4th District) cast "yes" votes. U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI 7th District), who now serves the Hudson area, voted no. The U.S. Senate passed the bill 89-8 on Monday with Republican Ron Johnson and Democrat …
Monday, December 31, 2012
It should be a drinking game for as much as we've heard the term 'fiscal cliff' since the polls closed in November, but what does it mean for your paycheck?
With hours left in 2012, it's still uncertain whether an agreement will be reached between Republicans and Democrats that would avoid having the country go over the dreaded "fiscal cliff" tax increases for just about everyone. An impasse between congressional Republicans and the White House centers over just whose taxes will go up — with the president indicating those who make $400,000 or more should see their tax rates go up, while Republicans are pushing for no increases at all, or hikes for just those making more than $1 million. Spending cuts have also remained a sticking point between the two parties. The hike will come at midnight as tax cuts from the Bush administration set in 2001 and 2003 will expire, increasing everyone's income …
Saturday, December 8, 2012
For more than a decade, the federal government has been spending a lot more money than it has been taking in. Because critical debt benchmarks were surpassed, in the near future our nation is facing what often is referred to as the fiscal cliff.
Editor’s Note: Each week Gov. Scott Walker delivers a weekly radio address. This week he addresses the Fiscal Cliff. Hi, this is Scott Walker. This week, I had the honor of joining a bipartisan group of Governors to meet with President Obama about the fiscal challenges facing our federal government. For more than a decade, the federal government has been spending a lot more money than it has been taking in. Because critical debt benchmarks were surpassed, in the near future our nation is facing what often is referred to as the fiscal cliff. If our federal government fails to take action to avert this fiscal cliff, we could experience a massive economic downturn, which would affect states all across the nation. I joined other …
Sunday, December 2, 2012
The spending cuts and tax cuts set to begin Jan. 1 provide the promise of recession. Can lawmakers find a solution before it happens?
National news outlets are now providing blow-by-blow accounts of Washington’s management — or lack thereof — of a looming “fiscal cliff.” On New Year’s Day, a series of tax hikes and spending cuts are set to trigger. Experts suggest allowing changes would contract the economy in the first half of 2013 — a recession — but also slice the federal deficit in half. Lawmakers have other options, which include canceling some or all of these changes — which would send the debt higher — creating stopgap measures to delay the impacts, or developing a compromise solution. There’s still a month, but compromise seems a long way off. President Obama’s administration delivered a proposal late last week that wasn’t much different from one offered earlier…
Friday, November 30, 2012
Wisconsin's Republican governor says political leaders in Washington should look to states like Wisconsin to fix the federal government's fiscal problems.
As partisan politics have taken center stage in the “fiscal cliff” discussions, Gov. Scott Walker on Friday said the federal government could find solutions to some national problems if they looked to state leaders for examples of sound policy. “Washington would be a lot better off — regardless of party — if they just acted more like states like Wisconsin,” Walker said. President Barack Obama has called for increased tax rates on the rich to allow for a tax freeze on the nation’s middle class, according to The Washington Post. Republican leaders are in strong disagreement, leading to House Speaker John Boehner to declare that negotiations are at a “stalemate” between the GOP and the Democrats, according to the newspaper. Not all …
Jim Wuerl
9:03 am on Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Umm Katy? Its the other way around. Boehner is a spineless wimp who drops his pants whenever given the chance. That is why conservatives are so angry with him. If Obama gave even a rip about our countries financial condition, we wouldn't be in this predicament. The problem isnt too much taxes. Its the uncontrollable spending. Republicans ARE paying the bills. OBAMAS credit limit is maxed out. He … more ›