Fiscal Cliff, Taxes and Employees

Unfortunately, yes.

Why are taxes going up?

Seriously though, I don't think 80% of people pay attention to these things. Of the 20% who do, I'd bet at least half only see them through their partisan spectacles.

What is your point? To make sweeping generalizations?

I have not had that meeting with our employees yet, as I am waiting on an answer from our super duper CFO (cough, gag, cough).  When I get that information, then I get to have that fun speech.

Not really meant to be a sweeping generalization, but in a way yes.  More to open discussion about the issue of how some people view things vs. others, of things based on total fact.

We are not debating point A or point B and how it's going to affect the country.  If the lawmakers don't fix the fiscal cliff issue, taxes will go up, which is a fact.  So, I felt obligated to let my employees know, so they were not blindsided in January.  It concerned me that they only comment I got was, well, I thought it was only supposed to happen on the  rich folks.

So, my question, Is society uninformed, as to not be able to make proper conclusions as to what may affect their lives, or do they choose to not be informed properly.  The information is out there to stay informed.  It's been all over the news, with the "what if's".

Half is far too generous. I would say 20% of the 20% are actually informed.

In defense of the common man.  If your like my company you have a 45 min commute.  you work 9 hours a day plus 1 hour for lunch so right there you have 11.5 hours of 16 take right from there. 

Do not for get exercise, personal hygiene,food prep, eating breakfast and dinner and family time.  So I can see how sound bites can be pretty common.   

I guess that is why so many people choose to watch news and the gym.  If you are like me at lunch the only news you get is fox news because that is all that is played.

I am far from rich, I don't know for sure but mine are going up around the 7k mark.  I will know when it happens, but just based on the examples being given.

The thing is if there are spending cuts and it stops some of the Obama give everyone everything programs, I am ok with the higher taxes.  I am sure we all will blame each others party, dems or Reps that it's thier fault.  This massive spending cannot keep going on.

Now everyone hurry up and buy a new chevy truck and help the poor puppetmaster out

That's 1.5 hours of radio, that you could be paying attention to what's going on. In today's incredibly over saturated media environment, there is almost no time you can't be checking the news.

I'd say that yes, most voters are very uninformed.

There was a reason that all the costs of Obamacare got pushed off until after the election.  The politicians knew nobody would pay attention, but if the costs hit their paycheck before the election they'd be in trouble.

Just from the Bush tax credits expiring it will cost my family about $2k out of pocket next year.  That doesn't take into account any fiscal cliff stuff or Obamacare taxes.  I played around with one of the fiscal cliff tax calculators and they had our out of pocket taxes going up anywhere from $7k to $10k next year if we go over the cliff.

Things could get very ugly in our household next year, and I suspect I'm not alone.

I'll be honest, I didn't know what the "Fiscal Cliff" was until about a month ago.  I knew the tax cuts were expiring but I didn't know it had a fancy schmancy name.

What's interesting to me is where people perceive the baseline to be.  Take the 2% social security tax holiday for example.  It was fully intended to be for 1 year only.  There fore, in MY head the baseline tax is still the pre-tax holiday tax rate.  The economy wasn't doing so hot at the end of the first year so it was extended to a second.  Now it seems obvious that it will not be extended any further because economic metrics appear good enough and budgets are likely too constrained to support it further.  YET, the general consensus is that taxes are going up, well, not really.  That specific one is going back to "normal" where Bush had it.

Technically since all these tax cuts had built in expiration dates the baseline is pre-tax cut levels.  By virtue of the expiration date they were never intended to be permanent.  But that is forgotten.  They've been in place for so long that people think it's the "normal" tax rate.

To answer your question, no.  People do not pay attention.

Is that before or after the speech to employees about their increase in health care premiums?

And in my experience, people who make an "average" income presume the tax increases affect "the rich."  Which is why the AMT is becoming the great equalizer.  AMT was always a good way to insure "the rich" pair their "fair share."  But when the AMT starts hitting the average tax payer, people are starting to question the definition of "rich."

In my own experience, the only time I've felt "rich" was when the tax man cometh...

 Half of the people in this country cannot tell you the basic difference between the Executive and Legislative branches, many if not most cannot tell you how much is taken out of their check in taxes so it is time for the uninformed to become educated.  I told my
Congressman to take us over, I am tired of a few people arguing over how much of someone else's money they should be able to take, while never even discussing what we can slow down the spending on. The majority wanted big spending and gimme programs well it's time to pay.

I think some of those calculators are making assumptions like getting hit by the AMT.  But I'll eat my hat if Congress fails to patch it.  They know what a huge number of people that will hit with today's income levels.

I could support this!!!!

Literacy tests to vote were banned in the 1970s.  I'm sure any test (even as simple as "Please name one Congressman") would be construed as "racist".

I agree with Scoob.  Neal Boortz has always said that every one should get a vote.  However for every $1000 (I think it was $1,000 then raised to 2$,000 for inflation etc..) in taxes you pay you get another vote up to a max of 10 votes.

read a newspaper on your lunch break?  there are always several floating around our cafeteria.  my last company had the wall street journal delivered every day.  an hour a day and a 50 cent investment is more than enough to become informed on a surface level.  add to that your radio time, you should be good to go.

I just checked the IRS website and FICA has in fact gone back to 6.2% withholding for employees effective January 1.

The IRS has a bulletin Notice 1036 issued yesterday explaining the tax changes that just went into effect.

Medicare withholding stays the same for everyone who makes less than $200k a year.  If you make more, your Medicare withholding increased an additional 0.9%.

Employers have until 2/15/13 to implement the changes.  If I understand correctly, if you wait to make the adjustment, you will have to make adjustements to collect any under-withholding and do that by 3/31.

I'm not an accountant, just a small business owner.