Anybody…anybody?
Unicorns and butterfly’s if they pass that bill tomorrow.
~Matt
Is it just me, or, do we need to pass this jobs bill now?
Well the "bill" doesn't really exist yet, but is supposed to early next week. With only an assurance that it will be paid for, but no explanation as to how, it would be massively irresponsible to pass it. Sounds like the admin is looking to have the debt ceiling raised again by 500 billion (cost of bill is now rumored at 450b). Never-the-less, I heard "pass the bill" probably 30 times in Obama's speech.
Is it just me, or, do we need to pass this jobs bill now?
don’t know why, but I was thinking that too! lol
With only an assurance that it will be paid for, but no explanation as to how
DUDE! Where you NOT paying attention. We will be paying for the bill TODAY by not spending as much over the next 10 years…it’s simple math.
Let’s say I run to Menards tomorrow and buy a WHOLE bunch of stuff. I can pay for all that stuff by coming home and saying “Honey but I won’t spend as much in 2015”…see?
~Matt
I’m sure passing a government bill will instantly create millions of jobs.
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Didn’t watch it. It actually seems much more sophisticated than the leaked plan from earlier this week, which is good because that was quite lame. The problem is that it’s paid for by increasing taxes on the rich and closing corporate tax loopholes. No way in hell that flies with the current Republican leadership (I’ll avoid getting too off topic by ranting on that:).
I actually like parts of it even. Only thing that really sticks out is that I have no clue how the hell you prevent discrimination based on unemployment status. That sounds ridiculously dumb to think you could somehow enforce that.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/09/08/fact-sheet-american-jobs-act
1. Tax Cuts to Help America’s Small Businesses Hire and Grow
Cutting the payroll tax in half for 98 percent of businesses: The President’s plan will cut in half the taxes paid by businesses on their first $5 million in payroll, targeting the benefit to the 98 percent of firms that have payroll below this threshold. A complete payroll tax holiday for added workers or increased wages: The President’s plan will completely eliminate payroll taxes for firms that increase their payroll by adding new workers or increasing the wages of their current worker (the benefit is capped at the first $50 million in payroll increases). *Extending 100% expensing into 2012: *This continues an effective incentive for new investment. Reforms and regulatory reductions to help entrepreneurs and small businesses access capital.
2. Putting Workers Back on the Job While Rebuilding and Modernizing America
A “Returning Heroes” hiring tax credit for veterans: This provides tax credits from $5,600 to $9,600 to encourage the hiring of unemployed veterans. Preventing up to 280,000 teacher layoffs,while keeping cops and firefighters on the job. Modernizing at least 35,000 public schools across the country,supporting new science labs, Internet-ready classrooms and renovations at schools across the country, in rural and urban areas. Immediate investments in infrastructure and a bipartisan National Infrastructure Bank, modernizing our roads, rail, airports and waterways while putting hundreds of thousands of workers back on the job. A New “Project Rebuild”, which will put people to work rehabilitating homes, businesses and communities, leveraging private capital and scaling land banks and other public-private collaborations. Expanding access to high-speed wireless as part of a plan for freeing up the nation’s spectrum.
3. Pathways Back to Work for Americans Looking for Jobs.
The most innovative reform to the unemployment insurance program in 40 years: As part of an extension of unemployment insurance to prevent 5 million Americans looking for work from losing their benefits, the President’s plan includes innovative work-based reforms to prevent layoffs and give states greater flexibility to use UI funds to best support job-seekers, including:
Work-Sharing: UI for workers whose employers choose work-sharing over layoffs. A new “Bridge to Work” program: The plan builds on and improves innovative state programs where those displacedtake temporary, voluntary work or pursue on-the-job training. Innovative entrepreneurship and wage insurance programs: States will also be empowered to implement wage insurance to help reemploy older workers and programs that make it easier for unemployed workers to start their own businesses. A $4,000 tax credit to employers for hiring long-term unemployed workers. Prohibiting employers from discriminating against unemployed workers when hiring. Expanding job opportunities for low-income youth and adults through a fund for successful approaches for subsidized employment, innovative training programs and summer/year-round jobs for youth.
4. Tax Relief for Every American Worker and Family
Cutting payroll taxes in half for 160 million workers next year: The President’s plan will expand the payroll tax cut passed last year to cut workers payroll taxes in half in 2012 – providing a $1,500 tax cut to the typical American family, without negatively impacting the Social Security Trust Fund. Allowing more Americans to refinance their mortgages at today’s near 4 percent interest rates, which can put more than $2,000 a year in a family’s pocket.
***5. Fully Paid for as Part of the President’s Long-Term Deficit Reduction Plan.***To ensure that the American Jobs Act is fully paid for, the President will call on the Joint Committee to come up with additional deficit reduction necessary to pay for the Act and still meet its deficit target. The President will, in the coming days, release a detailed plan that will show how we can do that while achieving the additional deficit reduction necessary to meet the President’s broader goal of stabilizing our debt as a share of the economy.
Also a hell of a lot more expensive, as leaked numbers moved form 300b to 400, then to 450b. Agreed there’s lots of good ideas there. Also agree that pubs will probably not agree to ANY tax increases right now. Ending loopholes is part of the serious tax restructuring that many say needs to be done, but I wonder if that’s almost like entitlement reform, in reality.
and you prevent discrimination the same way it's done in other areas; by requiring discrimination in favor of the group!
Do you think closing corporate tax loopholes while maintaining the current tax rate as the second highest in the world at 35% is going to spur job growth?
It has been confirmed. Boehner is blacker than the president.
and look at him, still pissed over Obama’s “tanning bed tax”, because he knows it was aimed at HIM!
I didn’t watch it or read about it, but it sucked monkeys.
No repatriation of overseas funds for corporations.
**I didn’t watch it or read about it, but it sucked monkeys. **
Ha ha, perfect.
I actually like parts of it even. Only thing that really sticks out is that I have no clue how the hell you prevent discrimination based on unemployment status. That sounds ridiculously dumb to think you could somehow enforce that.
/quote]
I understand your point, however it is a huge issue. There are many job ads out there right now that explicitly state do not apply unless you are currently working. I posted on this issue months ago. Now maybe they just take those words off the ad and throw your resume out immediately if you are unemployed, but having gone through many mass layoffs in IT, it really is pretty unfair that you are let go with 30 days notice, and then if you cannot find a job within that time you are immediately excluded from applying for employment you are qualified for even if you are only a few days into unemployment.
So yes, this is probably more of a gesture than it is enforceable, but the 4K tax credit for hiring long term unemployed may translate to something a bit more real.
Do you actually believe if they were to repatriate the money it would do anything for employment? Most of the big multi-nats are sitting on huge cash reserves and not hiring - why would letting them bring money back in give us any more assurance that jobs would be created here?
I am not saying that this issue shouldn’t be looked into, but giving the big corps essentially a blank check with no assurances seems foolish to me. They could just as well sit on the capital, hire in India or China, and improve their bottom line for the quarter without ever generating a single job in the US. Given most multi-nats will not disclose where their hiring is anymore, this issue needs more careful consideration.
As I pointed out before, it may be the second highest, but it is also the mostly loosely enforced - 55% of businesses pay no tax in a given year, and with the current loopholes the actual collected tax rate is approximately 26%, bringing it in line with many other western democracies.
That said, they should close loopholes (much as in personal income tax) but lower the marginal tax rates.And quite possibly, get rid of a lot of useless subsidies, though I personally hold that R&D subsidies are probably a good thing, but many others could go.
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I keep hearing about loopholes.
Can you give me an example of a loophole in business returns and also in personal?
I really cannot speak to loopholes for business, since I am not one and don’t do the taxes for one. For personal, the current meme is that things like mortgage deductions are loopholes - of course there are huge ripple effects to eliminating that, but basically there are a great many deductions here that you wouldn’t see in Canada (remember I am an ex-pat Canuck). My wife an I still have a pretty simple return, so I don’t know a lot of the ins and outs.
Actually, one business example of a loophole is this. Say the tax rate for your business is the claimed 35% - however before the fiscal year, you can set up a board of governors and pay them a salary. So if your business made 500,000 you could have a board made up of 10 of your nearest and dearest and pay each of them 50,000, reducing your tax burden to 0 - and the income would be taxed ata lower marginal rate. Now it is totally fair to deduct income from net profit, however there are way to make deducting income from profit and off shifting the tax burden to personal taxes. We won’t even get into some of the moving of money internationally - take a look at the Irish->Dutch->Cayman Island or other tax haven stuff to see how income is shielded.