By Jueseppi B.

 

 

 

 

 

The Seven Things You Need to Know About the Tax Deal

 

By Matt Compton  January 02, 2013  The White House Blog

 

 

Last night, Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. That means middle-class families won’t see an increase in their income tax rates. We’ve avoided the fiscal cliff.

 

President Obama will sign the legislation soon. Last night, he described the agreement as, “one step in the broader effort to strengthen our economy and broaden opportunity for everybody.”

 

“Under this law, more than 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses will not see their income taxes go up,” he said. “Millions of families will continue to receive tax credits to help raise their kids and send them to college. Companies will continue to receive tax credits for the research that they do, the investments they make, and the clean energy jobs that they create. And 2 million Americans who are out of work but out there looking, pounding the pavement every day, are going to continue to receive unemployment benefits as long as they’re actively looking for a job.”

 

We know that that a lot of people have questions about the deal, so we’ve pulled together some of the most important facts. Here are the seven things you need to know:

 

 

 

 

To learn more about this agreement and what comes next, be sure to watch President Obama’s full remarks.

 

 

 

 

Seven Things You Need to Know About the Tax Deal

 

1) As the President promised, income tax rates for middle-class families will stay low permanently. That’s good news for 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses.

 

2) As the President promised, for the first time in 20 years, a bipartisan agreement will increase tax rates on the wealthy. That rate increase will be immediate and permanent. Individuals making more than $250,000 will be asked to pay a little more to help reduce the deficit through a combination of increased tax rates and reduced tax benefits.

 

3) This agreement cuts the deficit. It builds on the $1 trillion of spending cuts the President signed into law in 2011 through the Budget Control Act. This new agreement cuts the deficit by $737 billion by asking the wealthiest to begin to pay their fair share. Moving forward, the President is committed to reducing the deficit even more, splitting savings in a balanced way between spending cuts and even more revenue from the wealthiest.

 

4) As part of this deal, a group of tax cuts that help middle-class families keep more money in their pockets and afford to pay for higher education was also extended. The Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, and the new American Opportunity Tax Credit will stay in effect for at least the next five years.

 

5) We’ll continue making investments that create jobs in domestic clean energy and innovation because the agreement extends the Production Tax Credit and the Research & Experimentation Tax Credit.

 

6) Lawmakers agreed to extend emergency unemployment insurance for 2 million people looking for work.

 

7) This agreement doesn’t cut Social Security benefits, Medicare, or Medicaid. That’s because the President stood strong against reducing our deficit on the backs of seniors, students, the poor, and working families.

 

 

Relief for Middle Class Families

 

Thanks to a bipartisan agreement, 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses will not see their income taxes go up. And THAT is what matters most.

 

 

Statements and Releases

 

Statement by the President on the Status of the Administration’s Supplemental Request to Congress for Response, Recovery and Mitigation Related to Hurricane Sandy

 

t has only been two months since Hurricane Sandy devastated communities across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut as well as other eastern states. Our citizens are still trying to put their lives back together. Our states are still trying to rebuild vital infrastructure. And so, last month, working closely with the Governors of the affected states, I sent Congress an urgent request to support their efforts to rebuild and recover. The Senate passed this request with bipartisan support. But the House of Representatives has refused to act, even as there are families and communities who still need our help to rebuild in the months and years ahead, and who also still need immediate support with the bulk of winter still in front of us.

 

When tragedy strikes, Americans come together to support those in need. I urge Republicans in the House of Representatives to do the same, bring this important request to a vote today, and pass it without delay for our fellow Americans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed under: 2012 Election, Business, Causes, Congress, Democrats/Democratic, Economy, Education, Finance, Good News, GOPukes/RepubliCANTS, News, Politics, POTUS Obama, Tax Returns/Taxes, The White House, Videos, World News Tagged: | American Opportunity Tax Credit, Barack Obama, Earned Income Tax Credit, Hurricane Sandy Relief Bill, Income tax, Obama, Research & Experimentation Tax Credit, Senate, Seven Things You Need to Know About the Tax Deal, Tax credit, United States, White House