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Opinion editorials Handling of Pit Appeal Calls for a Time-Out |
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opinion editorialsThis editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by editorial page staff and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers
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Monday, November 23, 2009
Tax Break = No Break
Tax Break = No Break
When is a tax break not a tax break?
When you have to give it back.
The Obama administration's stimulus tax credit, designed to put extra spending money in consumers' pockets to bolster the economy, has hit a snag.
The credit, which is supposed to pay individuals up to $400 and couples up to $800, has increased paychecks for 95 percent of working families. The credit started showing up as small increases in most paychecks, thanks to new IRS withholding tables.
Problem is the tables failed to take into account some categories of taxpayers. Those include individuals who work two jobs, married couples where both spouses work and make more than $13,000 and Social Security recipients who also earn taxable wages. They may be receiving more in those weekly nickel and dime amounts than they should.
Now more than 15 million taxpayers may have to pay back $250 or more.
The dribbles of extra dollars week to week don't make a big difference, but having to repay a chunk of it in one lump sum is at minimum an unneeded inconvenience — and in many cases a hardship.
Obama and congressional Democrats can expect some very unhappy taxpayers come next April, just in time for the mid-term election season.
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