Higher-income Americans hit hardest by tax changes

[alp227]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — Higher-income Americans and some legally married same-sex couples are likely to feel the biggest hits from tax law changes when they file their 2013 returns in the next couple of months. Taxpayers also will have a harder time taking medical deductions.

Other changes this year: The tax rate tables and standard deduction have been adjusted for inflation, and the Alternative Minimum Tax has been patched to prevent more middle-income taxpayers from being drawn in. There's now a simpler way to compute the home office deduction.

Though the tax changes were set early, the filing season is being delayed because of the two-week government shutdown last October. People won't be able to begin filing federal returns until Jan. 31.

That doesn't change the deadline, however. It's still April 15.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/higher-income-americans-hit-hardest-tax-changes-0

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Really?

[fbc]

1. Vague to the point of meaningless

Especially when you consider Krugman's recent post on the 5% vs. the 1%: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/17/why-we-talk-about-the-one-percent/

Words and numbers seem to be kept intentionally vague.

[lark]

2. As they should!

Upper income Americans have had their taxes cut to disastrously low levels for the past 12 years and still are getting huge cuts compared to what they paid up until GW lowered them. Too bad we aren't getting back the money their paid for representatives stole from the treasury all those years.

[okaawhatever]

5. Yes, they aren't mentioning how the higher earners are going BACK to their previous levels. nt

[PeoViejo]

3. Cry me a River....

[bemildred]

4. Oh no! They will stop working now and we'll all have to starve in the cold. nt

[groundloop]

6. Fox news* will somehow spin this to stir up its low-income low-knowledge viewers

They'll have all the teabaggers convinced that they'll be taking a huge hit. Morans!!!

[blackspade]

7. Oh, boo hoo.

[tazkcmo]

8. Boy!

Sure glad I'm not mega rich!

[CFLDem]

9. Yeah right

Their lawyers and accountants are already hard at work getting them out of this one.

Fairy tales like this story are just meant to mollify those who don't realize how it really works.