TROY, Mich. (WJBK) -- We have managed to avert some of the ‘Fiscal Cliff.' It's time to celebrate!
Here's a Fiscal Cliff Party SWAG Bag you don't want to be left without, says Leon LaBrecque, JD, CPA, CFP, CFA, Chief Strategist and founder of LJPR, a firm managing over $470 million* in assets.
LaBrecque outlines some of the major items in the Fiscal Cliff SWAG Bag:
The top tax rate will permanently rise to 39.6% for families with income above $450,000 and individuals above $400,000, up from the current top rate of 35%
The tax on capital gains and dividends will be permanently set at 20% for those with income above the $450,000/$400,000 threshold. It will remain at 15% for everyone else.
The estate tax will be set at 40% up from the current level of 35% for those with estates over $5million ($10 million for couples), and it will be indexed to inflation.
The 2009 expansion of tax breaks for low-income Americans: the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, and the American Opportunity
Tax Credit will be extended for five years.
Includes a permanent patch fix for the alternative minimum tax (AMT)
The payroll tax holiday will be allowed to expire.
Two limits on tax exemptions and deductions for higher-income Americans will be re-imposed: Personal Exemption Phase out (PEP) will be set at $250,000 and the itemized deduction limitation (Pease) kicks in at $300,000.
The full package of temporary business tax cuts will be extended for another year.
Provisions for the doc fix, avoids a cut in payments to doctors treating patients on Medicare.
Federal unemployment insurance will be extended for another year, benefiting those unemployed for longer than 26 weeks.
A nine-month farm bill fix will be attached to the deal.
The pay freeze on members of Congress, which Obama had lifted earlier this year, will be re-imposed.
The sequestration cuts will be delayed for two months. Half of the delay will be offset by discretionary cuts, split between defense and non-defense spending.
The new tax law extends the ability to make Qualified Charitable Deductions (QCDs) of RMDs directly (or indirectly) to charity.
Tuesday, June 18 2013 4:54 PM EDT2013-06-18 20:54:19 GMT
Who will open for Bon Jovi at Ford Field on July 18? Your vote will decide. 20 bands left in the Fox Rocks contest. Voting period: Now through July 10. Time to 'Fox Rocks' the vote.
Who will open for Bon Jovi at Ford Field on July 18? Your vote will decide. 20 bands left in the Fox Rocks contest. Voting period: Now through July 10. Time to 'Fox Rocks' the vote.
Wednesday, June 19 2013 12:52 PM EDT2013-06-19 16:52:35 GMT
The star of HBO's series True Blood wants Starbucks to put a lid on plastic waste. Kristin Bauer has created a petition challenging Starbucks lid policy, saying that it is wasteful.
The star of HBO's series True Blood wants Starbucks to put a lid on plastic waste. Kristin Bauer has created a petition challenging Starbucks lid policy, saying that it is wasteful.
Tuesday, June 18 2013 12:01 PM EDT2013-06-18 16:01:19 GMT
The Detroit Zoo has new babies to share with you this summer. Newborn warthogs, Daphne and Violet were born in April and have just been released into their habitat.
The Detroit Zoo has new babies to share with you this summer. Newborn warthogs, Daphne and Violet, were born in April and have just been released into their habitat.
