QUOTE OF THE DAY
House.gov: Final Roll Call Vote: 257 - 167
BILL TITLE: To extend certain tax relief provisions enacted in 2001 and 2003, and to provide for expedited consideration of a bill providing for comprehensive tax reform, and for other purposes
Bloomberg: Senate-Passed Deal Means Higher Tax on 77% of Households
The budget deal passed by the U.S. Senate today would raise taxes on 77.1 percent of U.S. households, mostly because of the expiration of a payroll tax cut, according to preliminary estimates from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center in Washington.
More than 80 percent of households with incomes between $50,000 and $200,000 would pay higher taxes. Among the households facing higher taxes, the average increase would be $1,635, the policy center said. A 2 percent payroll tax cut, enacted during the economic slowdown, is being allowed to expire as of yesterday.
The heaviest new burdens in 2013, compared with 2012, would fall on top earners, who would face higher rates on income, capital gains, dividends and estates. The top 1 percent of taxpayers, or those with incomes over $506,210, would pay an average of $73,633 more in taxes.
WSJ: Nothing Is Certain Except More Debt and Taxes
Whatever ultimately emerges from the fiscal-cliff negotiations over the past 48 hours, the country will survive. But the damage can't be undone. Taxes are going up for all working Americans. And so is the size of government.
Businesses have been waiting to see whether a second Obama administration will encourage the economy. During the fiscal-cliff negotiations, however, the president made clear that his goal isn't to get business going again but instead to expand government and redistribute income. He offered no real spending cuts and instead used the year-end deadline to divide America into classes—to the point of campaigning on New Year's Eve against higher earners. Though the president talks about fairness, his policies penalize profit and investment. This hurts aspiring Americans more than it hurts those who have already made it.
AP: Despite Cliff Deal: 'Nothing Really Has Been Fixed'
An emergency deal reached after weeks of rancorous negotiations will keep the U.S. from driving off the "fiscal cliff," but higher taxes and continued political bickering in Washington threaten to shake the fragile economy well into 2013.
A bill passed by Congress late Tuesday averts widespread tax increases and delays spending cuts that had threatened to take a bite out of the economy.
AP: Despite 'Cliff' Deal's Cuts, Your Taxes Are Going Up
While the tax package that Congress passed New Year's Day will protect 99 percent of Americans from an income tax increase, most of them will still end up paying more federal taxes in 2013.
That's because the legislation did nothing to prevent a temporary reduction in the Social Security payroll tax from expiring. In 2012, that 2-percentage-point cut in the payroll tax was worth about $1,000 to a worker making $50,000 a year.
The Hill: CBO: 'Fiscal cliff' deal carries $4 trillion price tag over next decade
The Senate deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff" will add roughly $4 trillion to the deficit when compared to current law, according to new numbers from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
The CBO determined Tuesday that the package, hammered out late Monday evening by Vice President Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would — over the next decade — come with a $3.9 trillion price tag.
Politico: The fiscal cliff deal that almost wasn't
House Speaker John Boehner couldn’t hold back when he spotted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the White House lobby last Friday.
It was only a few days before the nation would go over the fiscal cliff, no bipartisan agreement was in sight, and Reid had just publicly accused Boehner of running a “dictatorship” in the House and caring more about holding onto his gavel than striking a deal.
Forbes: Memo to Washington: Economic Growth Is Easy
John Stuart Mill long ago observed that we trade “products for products”, so if the desire is for increased consumption, we must stimulate the supply side of the economy. Specifically, we must remove the tax, regulatory, trade, and monetary barriers to productivity. For individuals to consume, they must produce first.
Politico: 2013, year of fiscal 'difficulty,' poll says
Half of all Americans, including nearly three-quarters of Republicans and 55 percent of independents, believe the United States’ best days are behind us, according to a poll released Wednesday.
The finding from Gallup fits in with other recent data showing Republicans in a gloomy, pessimistic mood after an election that saw President Barack Obama return for four more years in office and Democrats maintain control of the Senate.
