On Monday morning, Yahoo News published a story about the backdoor taxes that will hit the middle class in the proposed President Obama budget. Shortly thereafter the story (at Yahoo News) was taken down and replaced with the following:
"The story Backdoor taxes to hit middle class has been withdrawn. A replacement story will run later in the week."
If you are, however, a curious person who would like to read the story that was taken down, you would have been able to find it at Yahoo News Canada, but it was taken down sometime between early this morning and 1:30 this afternoon. The information below is from that story. I believe it has been totally removed from the web at this point. Evidently, someone has exerted pressure to have it removed from the US and Canadian websites. Hmmm.
The original story lists the ways that the Obama Budget increases taxes for the middle class. A few examples:
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When the Bush tax cuts expire, the top-tier personal income tax rate will rise to 39.6 percent from 35 percent. But lower-income families will pay more as well: the 25 percent tax bracket will revert back to 28 percent; the 28 percent bracket will increase to 31 percent; and the 33 percent bracket will increase to 36 percent. The special 10 percent bracket is eliminated.
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Tax on dividends jumps to 39.6 percent from 15 percent and the capital-gains tax increases to 20 percent from 15 percent.
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The AMT, initially designed to prevent the very rich from avoiding income taxes, was never indexed for inflation. Now the tax is affecting millions of middle-income households, but lawmakers have been reluctant to repeal it because it has become a key source of revenue.
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Taxpayers who itemize will lose the option to deduct state sales-tax payments instead of state and local income taxes.
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The $250 teacher tax credit for classroom supplies is gone.
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The tax deduction for up to $4,000 of college tuition and expenses is gone.
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Individuals who don't itemize will no longer be able to increase their standard deduction by up to $1,000 for property taxes paid.
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The first $2,400 of unemployment benefits are taxable, in 2009 that amount was tax-free.
It seems as if elections have consequences, and those elected don't necessarily want you to know what those consequences are!
NOTE: This is what you get now when you follow the link to this story at Yahoo Canada:
"The Feb 1 story headlined "Backdoor taxes to hit middle class" is wrong and has been withdrawn. The story said lower-income families will pay more under tax provisions scheduled to expire Dec 31. The Obama administration's budget calls for the extension of those tax provisions for households earning less than $250,000. There will be no substitute story."
Amazing!
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