An additional $2,200 dollars average taxpaying families of four would have sent off to Washington tax collectors during 2013 was again guaranteed take home income before the House broke ranks on the first night in 2013. After 10 pm, following legislative action in the evening that stopped a change in congressmembers' pay, a strong majority in the House cancelled expectations in a recession and shrunken economy this year by keeping, for good, the lowered tax rates President George W. Bush had passed into law in 2001 and 2003.
San Diegans can look ahead to a growth year the federal leaders so far have stopped from being sunk by deficit concerns. There will be no break in the lighter tax years for almost all income earners.
"Keep the taxes low for the middle class and help grow the economy," a President looking ahead to the new year said.
The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, H.R. 8, settled the debate over making the wealthiest 2 percent pay 620 billion dollars in increased taxes into reducing the deficit, an amount President Obama calls their "fair share." Tax benefits for the rich return to Clinton era levels.
Giving taxpayers an opportunity to save money for family spending and hiring proved a higher priority in Congress than letting the rich hold on to their profits made in capital gains and investment pay offs. For the first time in twenty years, the two parties came together for a bipartisan agreement on increasing the taxes paid by the rich.
"Everyone has to pay their fair share," Obama said.
Small businesses will not have to work on productivity, and hire workers, with an extra tax burden. In 2013, ninety seven percent will not give up any more business income in taxes.
Opportunity to spend consumer dollars that ninety eight percent of American taxpayers, 114 million households, have for another year in the economic recovery was given to them by the U.S. legislators to prevent any disappointments in hiring done in the local labor forces.
Obama urged the deal to give Americans enough money to not have to give up on spending money on anything important. Earned dollars kept by taxpayers can help finance local housing market recoveries.
Local workers in San Diego among the 2 million Americans still on unemployment and looking for a job escape the months of limited hiring that would have happened. And can still depend on the federal emergency unemployment benefits that were extended until January 1 next year.
The president who kept time on the fiscal cliff negotiations in the Congress all through December, even returning early from a holiday family vacation to urge legislators to pass a bill, thanked Congress for holding out until a deal was done. No dollars earned by the rich were spared in the House deal that raised the 70 billion dollar one year increase in tax revenue in the bill the Senate passed, with approvals from both Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, to the 620 billion dollars over ten years that Obama asked for.
The tax increase cancellation prevents a loss in the take home income a family has to spend money on a student's college costs, earned dollars that Rep. Susan Davis (D-San Diego), who asked for tax relief by signing a December 4th petition on passing the tax cuts signed by over hundred legislators, has worked in Washington to let local families take for granted. The child tax credit, and the American Opportunity Tax Credit, were extended with the earned income tax credit to help families save 1,000 dollars for the future. San Diego households who spend an average 52,120 dollars a year, the National University System Institute for Policy Research reported in March of 2012, can set money aside not spent on housing and food in a local market that has an inflation rate well above both the state and national rates to give their child an opportunity to get a top education.
Family savings might even last until the economy is fully recovered.
For another year, there is no marriage tax penalty.
Lame duck Republican representative Brian Bilbray (R-San Diego) did not challenge the tax credits President Obama successfully made inseparable from the tax rate cuts extension, and voted in favor of the bill with Davis. The bill did not lack renewable energy incentives popular in the Southern California town. Algae energy producers, one of Bilbray's longstanding groups of supporters, got an extended tax break at the same time as the regional facilities that produce renewable energy using wind and solar energy. Plans to produce geothermal energy also would take less tax finances.
No one in San Diego has to get nervous the critical growing green energy industry will get weakened by increased tax burdens in 2013. Investments San Diego companies that take a vehicle tax credit worth up 2,500 dollars make in alternative energy vehicles with two and three wheels get cheaper in a town that will continue to take advantage of tax breaks for building renewable energy charging stations.
His service ends with success on tax relief valuable for the innovative local industries. The defense jobs taken away from San Diegans after the DOD makes the 492 billon dollars in sequestration spending cuts he was not able to cut down to a less disabling level will shrink the traditional labor market while locals hope increased consumer spending gives them new job opportunities.
Congress, however, has handled only half the work on the fiscal cliff.
The lull on making the sequestration cuts continues into the 113th legislative session this year.
House Speaker John Boehner remains disappointed that the President did not agree to fully resolving the fiscal cliff problem by signing a tax cut extension bill passed by the House that made the 1.2 trillion dollars in sequestration cuts. Obama refused to ease up on passing a bill to add to his recovery plan and do more federally funded work and improve Americans' job opportunities.
The lame duck Congress did not have the strength to sit down at a table with President Obama and work out a much larger deal. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) could only work out the agreements on the taxpayer dollars Americans can invest in the economy.
President Obama plans to add to the 1.7 trillion in spending cuts he signed into law since April. "The deficit is till too high." Time will not be spared for long on moving ahead on work on federal deficit reduction that encourages growth in the local economies.
Deals on building roads and bridges and investing in additional opportunities to get educatied and trained for a job not done during this year's work wait for another day.
Successes on national proposals to improve opportunities working Americans can take are crucial to Obama's plans for his frst year during his second term.
The American Taxpayer Relief Act was plainly a deal agreed on by the administration to make the tax code progressive. A tax code he said is "too skewed towards the wealthy at the expense of working class Americans."
President Obama got much of what he asked for. At the end of his statement on the deal, he said, "Happy New Year!"
This is a Center Line Policy Alert.
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