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President Obama marked the twentieth anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act yesterday with a special ceremony on the White House South Lawn. “Not dependence—but independence. That’s what the ADA was all about,” the president said, before signing an executive order that, effective 2012, will require new construction to meet enhanced design [...] It’s pretty clear that a large number of home buyers may not understand how the first-time home buyer tax credit works. A disturbingly high percentage of filers trying to claim the credit might just be crooks. An IRS audit rejected almost 10% of home buyer tax credits due to incorrect or outright fraudulent claims. Some [...] This week, President Obama made Harvard Professor Dr. Donald M. Berwick a recess appointee to run Medicare and Medicaid. Based upon his public statements, Dr. Berwick seems very much in line with Obama’s belief in the benefits of “spreading the wealth around.” During a speech in England in which he praised the British national health care [...] Today, the Congressional Budget Office released its long-term budget outlook. Again, the forecast going forward to 2035 and beyond was a grim reminder of the fiscal future that awaits the U.S., especially if Congress does what it has done for the past ten years: increase spending and cut taxes. The federal budget [...] A new report by the Congressional Budget Office undermines President Obama’s constant refrain that the “rich” are paying less than their share of federal taxes and that the middle class is over burdened. The report, Average Federal Tax Rates in 2007, shows that the wealthiest 20 percent of households earned 55.9 percent of all income [...] It has been acknowledged by most Democratic Party leaders since at least 2000 that the federal estate tax was becoming an intolerable burden. Vice President Gore campaigned on the idea of raising the exemption amount to $4 million for individuals and $8 million for couples because even people so successful and financially sophisticated as multi-millionaires [...] Congress’ effort to pass a jobs bill stalled in the Senate on Wednesday. In part, the upper chamber tied itself into Senate-like knots thanks to the usual partisan wrangling. But the proposal has also rekindled a debate over the need for more economic stimulus versus fear of rising deficits. This argument is important and healthy, but wildly overblown in the [...] On this week’s Tax Policy Podcast, Dick Patten, President of the American Family Business Institute (AFBI), discusses the federal estate tax, which has been completely repealed for 2010 — but only for this year. The tax is scheduled to come back to life on January 1, 2011 at a higher rate of 55% with the [...] |
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