How much of a raise did Congress get?

This is the way the Dems will sneak tax increases in. I saw my military retirement deduction go up and wondered why, now I know. Just wait until the tax increases for healthcare etc. kick in. Write you congressperson and senators and tell them enough is enough. Stop taxing everything. The next tax will be the tax on taxing.

frankly as independently wealthy most of the scum are, they should be working for free….I say put them in the civil structure at a GS-11 wage scale and no more….

When is a tax cut a tax increase? When Obama and the democrats are in control.
This is nothing, we are about to see the largest tax increase in the history of the world, when the so called "healthcare plan" passes. Imagine a plan where you get to collect taxes for four years, without any payouts. Where do you think the money is going to go, into a "lockbox"?

I'm no

Better yet claim 12 dependants. I figure were paying for Acorn anyway.

They sure know how to Run up a deficit. They've got that down to a science…..Maybe more like science fiction.

It seems that we once fought a Revolutionary War due to underhanded taxation without representation. When will all of America wake up and say enough is enough. America must demand accocuntability.

[...] Under the Obama Plan, 95% of American families will receive a net tax cut — except for the ones who have taxes withheld from their paychecks. [...]

We will just call it a freedom adjustment after all grasshopper this is the way government. We won’t call it a tax it’s a fee, a regulation, a mandate. A hike, health care, a manipulation, anything but theft or tax.

That does it I am increasing my dependents!

oBomba Lies!

My husband is retired from the railroad…they informed him there would me no COL this year, because there was no inflation!!! Are you kidding me! I go to the grocery store and have to pay triple what I paid last year, and they say no inflation??? wtf???

Yes, it is long past time, but how can we do it?

If this is not used to run Democrats out of Congress in 2010, it will be the biggest "blown save" since that stat was invented.

NOTHING surprises me about this communist adminstration. We have to stop this takeover. I do believe that starving the beast is the best approach for now, but there is one big but, are people really going to follow through with this?

Dirty rotten cheating lying liars!! Whew….there I feel better.

Soon the Government will tax at 100% and send you a check based on what they think you deserve.

This is another shining example of how politicians will say ANYTHING to get elected, then once their in, the do whatever they want. They will slip in their pork projects, conduct closed door negotions all while promising "transparancy", change laws when no one is looking, and screw the American people just because they can. Time to clean house!!!

A dem is a dem is a dem. America Rising!

just increase your your # of exemptions on your W-4 form (i.e from 4 exemptions to 6) that way less is withheld from your pay. your exemptions on the W-4 does not have to agree to the number of dependents you file on your tax return. problem solved.

Are we living in BIZARRO world ? His quote: "We will save American taxpayers billions with this tax increase". WHAT ??????? Aside from proving to be a liar in his pre-election speeches he now thinks we are truly stupid enough to make sense of this completely foolish statement. TAX INCREASES EQUATES TO SAVINGS ?? WHAT ??

I am afraid we are not enough to vote them out in 2010. They are already working on an immigration bill and I read that Shumer is going to introduce a bill that anyone who receives any welfare benefits at all (food stamps, medicare,etc.) will already be able to vote without normal voter registration. And is not Acorn also receiving money again? This is so scary. What can we do? So many people don't even know what is going on.

Claim married with 11 dependents. Settle up at tax time.

Stave the beast. Clain 11 dependents. Then do not file taxes for a couple of years. Take the savings and buy guns and ammo. They will find out that without our money they have no power, no votes and no friends. Fight or die.

[...] From my article at BIG GOVERNMENT. [...]

I was wondering when someone would point this out …

I think it is moves like this (probably not this one, but it'll be something like this) that will finally wake up SOMEONE in the fringe media and these scams will be exposed for all to see …

Do you honestly expect your representatives to listen to you? Where have you been hiding for the last year? Those people don't give two whistles in a whirlwind what you have to say!

G0DDAMNED C0CKSUCKERS!

[...] Big Government – Congress Tinkers with Withholding Tax Tables for 2010 [...]

Dream on…The media as a whole with very few exceptions are of like mind with this corrupt government!

very good analysis — thanks. One omission: the line
$6,688 —$14,450 . . .$1,608.53 plus 33% —$6,688
from the tax tables for 2010 was omitted; it should go as the fourth BOLD in the list for 2010.

Does not detract from a very cogent message — thanks again.

This is a little off subject but still fits in with their corrupt activities…Dodd the sorry SOB has cheated the people of Connecticut once again by denying them the satisfaction of voting his butt out of office, not only them, but all of America will rejoice at his departure…Talk about corrupt, he is to the core, then he tooting his own horn at how proud he is of all his achievements….Got to hand him a trophy for his audacity, (word of the year) the not many have the guts to pat themselves on the back for screwing the people over!

Which means next April 15 I will have to cough up the difference in what I paid in and what I owe. So exactly how does that help?

I claim 9 dependents as it is and still get $$ back every year….

Fine = Tax for failure
Tax = Fine for success

…just saying…

Have you had a look at the FairTax?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FairTax

Nicely put and agreed with!

I've been saying that too. Stop all gov charitable donations (they're unconstitutional) and cut taxes! If a charity is worth while people will support it with the money saved from tax cuts. If people don't support it… maybe it doesn't deserve to exist,

Me thinks the Republicants are in favor of this….

Agreed… why did gov get ANY raise at all? They're the highest paid sector around now.

Thankfully in Virginia we're getting a pretty conservative governor. I hope he talks with Texas gov and start up a nullification plan… hopefully more than a dream.

OK, I guess fuel costs are up a bit from 12 months ago (but down significantly from 18 months ago).

We live in the Midwest.

[...] Congress Lies While Making American’s Poorer Via RedState:  From the diaries by Erick From my article at BIG GOVERNMENT. [...]

Its going to get a whole lot worse, the government is flat broke, nothing left but the printing press. If the history of socialism/communism is an accurate indicator of our future, they'll start going after private property and other concrete assets owned by the citizenry. Remember the communist philosophy of the "Year Zero". Everything that came before them is the product of an unfair society based on a privledged class gaining unequal advantages. They feel its their duty, and right, to seize what was gained during the period before their benevolent rule.

I had no idea that I wasn't getting my COLA increase in 2010, I know that Social Security recipients where not getting one and was pissed about that now I'm really pissed! I wonder how much the parasites in D.C. are giving themselves? Must be nice to vote your own pay raise! Term limits or we are doomed! No retirement checks for elected officials anywhere any time, medical coverage only while they are in office. And a thurough independent investigation of all elected officials 5 years after they leave office to assure the citizens that all laws are followed.

All you brilliant patriots might want to put down the muskets and get a calculator instead. I did, and calculated that my 2010 biweekly witholding according to the tables linked is exactly $1.69 LESS biweekly than my 2009 at $92,000 a year.

I noticed this, too, a month ago when I got the tables from irs.gov and put them in a spreadsheet that I use to calculate my taxes. I had never seen a tax table where the rate increased, then went back down (the 25%-27-30-28 brackets). I figured it had something to do with the Make Work Pay thing, or whatever it's called, since I've been hearing since last year that there was some trickery involved in that whole scheme.

[...] [...]

You must have failed your math class. Check your numbers , a retirement of 45,000 has a change of $20, so you have more than that my friend, and if you did not want that money in the first place why didn't you voluntarily give it away or more. little by little your $92,000 will turn into $30,000

It's going into the same "locked box" they put Social Security into….you know, the one the sticky fingered politicians broke the lock on.

Huh?

I followed your links and I did the math as you suggested, using the semi-monthly tables for 2009 and 2010, excluding exemptions and other modifications to the base tax witholding. I got this:

2009: Per paycheck tax = $932.28
2010: Per paycheck tax = $931.78

Then I tried again, same salary, using the bi-weekly tables:

2009: $954.22
2010: $953.68

What am I missing? This seems to invalidate your argument, at least for the “Over $3,373 – $6,688″ bracket.

At one time I thought that also, that people were not aware of what is going on….I think they are very aware, and are sticking their heads in the sand, as if they hide from the facts they will go away…well they won't, and until people pull their heads out of the sand and Democrats pull their heads out of Obama's A$$ they the liberal socialist will keep seeing how far they can go! Like a kid testing his/her parent, (usually Mom) before Mom picks the kid up and paddles his/her A$$! Now I say it's time for an A$$ whopping!

Federal Government Employees are NOT eligible for COLA increases this year! Their COLA is based the same as the Social Security. NO COLA for either!

Maybe I'm doing something wrong but I charted out the dollar amounts being withheld between $1 and $15000 (for the single, bi-weekly chart) and the biggest difference that I got per pay period was $4.75 per pay period. People making more than $2944 actually had less withheld in 2010 than they did in 2009 (very little but still negative).

Tthey create 2 new wage brackets and take much more out…how do you not see that? But in reality, if 20 million people have $20 taken out that's how much money to the gov't? Don't you see this is a bit of a tax hike–Obama promised not to raise taxes at all. My calculator shows a $227 difference between some brackets…and a 30% tax rate for singles.

Wait till you do your 2009 taxes and find out that you have to give back the tax break Obama gave you and bragged about giving you. That $13 dollars a week will cost you about $500 at tax time. They are hoping that you, like most people, have over payed what you owe in taxes and will not notice. Democrat lies again.

SusanAnne:

You're missing the bigger story. A portion of the withholding taxes have been made regressive (or rather, there is a select income range where people with higher incomes will have a lower percentage of their taxes withheld compared to those who earn just below that income range.) Here's a graphical comparison of the annual withholding rates provided in the original 2009 IRS Employers Tax Guide (Publication 15, before the March 2009 revision that you've linked) and the version for 2010 that was released on December 24, 2009.

Dang. Posting that really messed up the formatting on that table. Let me try it again with different formatting.

$………………..2009……….2010
$233………………..0……………..0
$401…………12.55…………16.8
$1,387…….160.45………164.7
$2,604…….465.55…….468.95
$3,248…….645.87…….642.83
$3,373…….680.87…….680.33
$6,688…..1609.62…..1608.53
$14,450…4171.62….4169.99

Those that pass the bills to raise our tax's are our representation which were voted in so I suggest we vote them out or provide alternative advise by establishing a platform and running in the next election.
We are fighting a war on terrorism, on drugs and on illeagal imigrations so why not a war on political under handedness for lack of a better term.

I only had time to examine 4 scenarios. Income (after deductions) of $5000 for single+biweekly, married+biweekly, and of $3525 for each of: single+semimonthyl, and married+semimonthly.

Hopefully that's enough for anybody to recreate my process, but I'll try to follow this thread in case there are questions.

At each income level and payment frequency (I suppose the payment frequency shouldn't matter at all), the taxes were reduced for single people, and went up for married people.

Single, $5000, biweekly, 2009: withholding = $1136
Single, $5000, biweekly, 2010: withholding = $1098
Married, $5000, biweekly, 2009: withholding = $865
Married, $5000, biweekly, 2010: withholding = $881

Single, $3525, semimonthly, 2009: withholding = $702
Single, $3525, semimonthly, 2010: withholding = $699
Married, $3525, semimonthly, 2009: withholding = $449
Married, $3525, semimonthly, 2010: withholding = $512

Why did I pick $5000 and $3525? $5000 seemed like a nice round number to work with. $3525 happens to be my income after subtracting for the number of deductions I'm claiming.

With higher withholding and no increase in tax rates, you'll see people get bigger refunds or have to pay less additional funds come tax time. People will (wrongly) equate bigger refunds to paying less taxes and be happier.
All the while their taxes haven't dropped and all that's happening is they get money back the government shouldn't have taken in the firsat place.

Nice plan, especially if you run ads claiming how at tax time you're going to provide for bigger refunds for all Americans……

Multiply the 27% – 30% by the delta of the excess and add that to the 2009 tax and you will see that it is a wash.
Almost no change in the withholding at all.
In my case it came out to $0.44 less (on a single, biweekly pay of $3800).

And Obama's promise of no taxes IS BROKEN. THAT'S the point. Multiply that $4.75 by millions and well…you've got multimillions so it becomes a big deal. Bush 41 was held accountable for Read my lips…so will be Obama be held to the same standard?

Isn't BigJournalism.com launching today? I cannot wait to see what will be the launching expose!

Hey all you Obama liberal lemmings. How do you like having it stuck to you, again, with so much more re-distribution coming? Meanwhile, the bill for 11 days in Hawaii for the Sultan of Chicago, on our dime is in the mail? 'Hope' you like having your nose rubbed in it because it isn't going to 'Change'.

It's difficult when looking at an actual paycheck, but based on the tables, the new withholding is higher for everyone except those making between $145054 and $381394 (married) in taxable income. Between those levels, withholding is lower. In other words, higher taxes for everyone except those making between ~$250,000 and $500,000 a year gross.

[...] Congress Sneaks Middle-Class Tax Hikes into 2010 Withholding Tables By Richard Keyt, on January 6th, 2010 The Tax Lawyer’s Blog:  “Experience tells us that spendthrifts are often forced by necessity and desperation to find creative ways to fund their profligate spending. Some turn to gambling, others to confidence games and still others to outright theft.  This phenomenon can be observed in governments as well as individuals.  Here is the latest in a long line . . . of Congress’ creative and cowardly ways of taxing the middle-class.  SusanAnne Hiller writing for Andrew Breitbart’s Big Government blog alerts us to some sneaky tax increases hidden in the 2010 withholding tables in Congress Tinkers with Tax Withholding Tables for 2010“ [...]

THATS IT. I'M BECOMING AN ILLEGAL ALIEN!

I agree with the sentiment of the article. I am not a fan of taxes in general nor of lending money to the government through the withholding process. However, the article's MATHEMATICAL analysis of the change in withholding tables is totally misleading. In fact there is no MEANINGFUL change to the withholding tables. Using the same example that the article uses of bi-weekly single withholding rates, someone earning $8 per hour for 40 hours per week will have $52.65 withheld in 2010 for every 2 week pay-period as compared to $48.40 in 2009, a difference of $4.25 every 2 weeks This isn't a zero difference, but it's not worth getting too worked up about. For someone earning $24 per hour (roughly $50,000 per year) the bi-weekly withholding will be $297.95 in 2010 compared to $293.20 in 2009 (a difference of $4.75). Someone making $100K per year will have their bi-weekly withholding change from $813.31 to $812.77 (a decrease of a whopping 54 cents), while someone making $200k will see a drop of a little over a dollar per pay period. Finally, the change from 7 to 9 brackets is also meaningless, but I leave the analysis to some other intrepid wonk.

Obama promised NEVER to raise taxes. Bush 41 was fired for doing it. Again, when you multipy this by MILLIONS of taxpayers, they are siphoning small amounts from taxpayers. Never means never. And so does "Read my lips… But, the rules are different for liberals. Yes, it matters. That $4.75 or so times a few pay periods could be a prescription for someone.

I also love how everyone wants to be an accountant now. Funny to watch everyone try to do the math.

It's tinkering alright and a BROKEN promise. But dismissed when liberals do it.

We should rightly be complaining about actual tax increases whether through a raise in the tax rates, or the addition of various "fees" such as the fines proposed in ObamaCare. However, a nominal change in the withholding tables is not in fact an increase in taxes.

Something that has not been well addressed is the fact that the revised withholding for 2009 could result in
many taxpayers either coming up short when they actually file 2009 returns, OR expected refunds will be
less. Time will tell, and there may be a number of surprises, because I feel that the downward adjustments
made during 2009 did not accurately reflect the proper tax amounts but were used primarily to give taxpayers
a quick fix for political purposes.

When they try to take our guns… Just like last time. Cheers

Sorry – I have Fed employee relatives at DOD already calculating their COLA increase for the year – 2 -2.5%. Not much, but a heck of a lot better than a pink slip or salary reduction.

I claim 8 dependants… claim more, the IRS will investigate… claim less and be robbed. It is better to have your money and invest it in what you choose, than it is to give the government as an interest free loan. So what if I owe a few hundred at the end of the year… I've been in control of the rest of MY MONEY through out the year.

lmao i love it stan keep them coming

I ran the numbers for the single, bi-weekly withholding charts and the numbers aren't that different between 2009 and 2010. The biggest differences were that the first bracket started lower and there was a weird breakout of the ~2500-6500 bracket. It had been broken into 3 pieces with the first piece being at a lower withholding rate, the second (smaller range than the first) being at a higher rate and the third being at the same rate. Because the first piece (which is 1% lower) is larger than the second (which is 2% higher) by more than 2X the net is actually negative.

Overall the most that you'd have withheld more in 2010 (using the single, bi-weekly numbers) is $4.75 per paycheck. That doesn't seem big enough to get really excited about….

for a guy who wasn't going to raise taxes, this guy has found more ways to increase taxes than I though possible through such a variety of "sleight of hand" techniques – what a mess. those who voted for him got the government they voted for and the rest of us are having to suffer through it.

This Obama is a pathological liar!
When will he be impeached?
Oh, whatever sewer rat is monitoring blogs for this regime-mark my words-he'll leave you hanging after he destroys this nation, and he'll be laughing all the way, on Air Force One (Soul Plane) heading to wherever he stashed his billions! You, like the other 54 million-have been conned!

I just feel so warm and fuzzy when I think about what the government does to, er, I mean for us. I am going to HR today to change my W4. I'm not giving these jokers one more dime that I have to. They're not using my money to tweak their budget numbers. Assuming I get the money back next spring, 2010 will just look worse, which they can then blame on the Republicans, who will have taken back Congress. I want my countrty back – no more communists!
http://theillinoisguy.wordpress.com/2010/01/07/ri...

Taxpayers: Don't forget the HOUSE and SENATE gave themselves RAISES somewhere between $4,000-$6,000 a year!!! The hypocracy………….

Hope and change?? Yeah, I HOPE the next election cycle will CHANGE the balance of power in DC. These people are out of control!

http://www.numbersusa.com
send your free faxes now this is how we stopped the immigration bill the last time. Best part it is free!

And this is a surprise because?

It's NOT Hope and Change it's HOPE and CHAINS!

Up until now most average citizens did not feel the consequences. For those hardworking american citizens – the reality is going to hit very soon! The first paycheck in January will reflect the Tax Increases and many are going to have figure out how to pay the bills with less money. It will become very real and hopefully people will speak out with their votes over the next several elections!!

Interesting, my sister's military pension withholding went UP. Tinkering they are!

run the numbers; this makes almost no difference to withholding amounts. difference for WEEKLY witholding totals no more than $2.50 under any of the tax brackets. the increase is skewed toward the lower tax brackets, with any increase at all phasing out at a salary higher than $1250 / wk.

I suggest that all American workers adjust their withholding with a new W-4 form filed with their employers. Have the employer take out as little as legally possible, even if it means owing some taxes on April 15, 2011. Then take the additional money from each paycheck and put it in the bank. If it is needed next April 15, you'll have it. if not, you'll still have it! In the meantime, you have starved the federal government. To Hell with the big spenders in Washington.

Read The Obama Timeline and learn why it will only get worse.

The reason I did the analysis was that I was going to post a link to this article on a forum that I frequent to point out to the liberal (er…progressive I guess they want to be called now) members of the board (it's a mixed group as it's a game forum and not an ideologically based forum). I wanted to call out where there was the biggest difference in $ so I ran (in excel) the taxes for every bi-weekly income from $1 to $15000. When the biggest difference in weekly withholding was $4.50 I rechecked my numbers several times and then came back to let people know that this really wasn't an issue (at least for the withholding table that the original article was showing).

Not true, and take that number and multiply it by millions of ttaxpayers. If it is no big deal why do people scream about $4.00 generic prescriptions!

This isn't a secret conspiracy by the Democrats, but it is a signal of governmental incompetence. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration ("TIGTA") conducted a review of how the IRS was implementing the the Making Work Pay Credit. The issued a report showing that the tax tables for 2009 Making Work Pay tax credit were incorrectly structured. As many as 15.4 million tax payers may have not had enough money withheld from their paychecks.

This change in the tax tables wasn't due to an act of Congress. The IRS accepted a recommendation from the Treasury Department to change the withholding schedule. Increased withholding requirements is not a tax increase.

SusanAnne Hiller simply does not understand what is happening with the tax tables and it amazes me that the IRS could not explain it. Last year, Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and that caused new withholding tables to be issued for April through December 2008. That allowed employees to receive the Making Work Pay Credit of $400 through reduced withholding from their paychecks. When she refers to the weekly single wage level of $138 falling to $116, she is measuring that change from the modified withholding tables (which were only good from April through December) rather than the original withholding tables issued at the start of 2009. The higher earning level of $138 was necessary to achieve a reduction in withholding of $400 from April through December (only 9 months). The 2010 tables allow for the same $400 reduction in withholding except it is averaged over the entire 12 months of the year so the weekly single wage level has to be less or the reduction in withholding would result in more than $400 reduction in withholding.

The explain why the military are experiencing a raise in the withholding? And the other comments here, please.

If you reread the article, retired military have had more money taken out of their paychecks–the email cites "recent legislation." There is no misinformation here, she raises questions about the tabes, the NEW wage categories and higher percentages, and also how do you explain the withholding increases on some people–that are actually happening Mine increased and nothing changed and I don't qualify for making work pay. Not everyone qualified for the Making Work Pay. Basically, it something to look out for, it seems, but I can tell you my coworkers have had more taken out of their pay and they are not happy.

You're right. Like the woman in a handout line in Detroit said, "It's Obama money. That's why I voted for him". The next question to her should have been; How many times?

Since it was first legislated, it's really all about the coming "PLANED BANKRUPTCY" of our GOVERNMENT! This "CRASH" will LEAD to the "CASHLESS SOCIETY," which I'm sure most have heard about predicted in the BIBLE!

Do all you people not hear all the commercials on TV offering to "settle your tax debts for pennies on the dollar"?

We're Increasing oour W-4 Exemptions to the max that won't force our employer to call the IRS — I THINK it's 10, but TALK TO A TAX ACCOUNTANT or payroll department TO BE SURE — and then spend the extra cash on stuff we're going to have to buy anyway…

We're stocking up on TP, feminine products, motor oil, filters, tires, bedding and pillows — all the stuff we're going to be forced to pay higher prices for later. Google "the alpha strategy" for good ideas on stuff that will keep!!

We won't lie on our return – that's a crime – but they can't get blood from a turnip!!

We'll run up our tax-bill for as long as possible, then use the system to get them to settle for as little as possible – and we'll be able to pay it off over time with disgustingly low payments… We should be able to make the payments with the cash we saved not paying post-inflation prices for all that stuff we stocked up — it's like FREE MONEY!

STARVE
THE
BEAST!

FEAFEFH!!

They're increasing our withholding to generate a cash surplus for themselves but don't count on getting it back when you file next year. The tax codes will have changed again by then I'm sure and you'll be ineligible to get it back.

Three years ago when I started my new job, I put the word EXEMPT on my W-4 form. My company doesn't take any money out for taxes. Then I saved up during the year so that I would have enough money available to pay the tax. I don't let Big Brother keep my money for me. And I haven't been bothered by either my employer or the IRS.

HaHa… tax is only one third of government income. The other two thirds you aren't ever told about and comes from government investments. They steal this. Then rob you some more. Suckers. These investments now amount to control of most of the world. They send things up, they send things down, they short, they go long, they funnel money from one investment to another, cook the books…. it's an attorney's paradise, which is why most are attorney's…. or crooks actually. Al capone had nothing on this lot. Tax… don't make me laugh. All tax could be vanquished if the people would wake up to the collosal scam going on and this is but one part.

You silly people,where else can our government get the recently passed 20 billion aid package to Israel?

I object to the censorship by Editors of this website:

I have tried TWICE to post brief comments about
IRC section 3402(n), but both times my comments
were deleted immediately.

Sincerely yours,
/s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell, B.A., M.S.
Private Attorney General, 18 U.S.C. 1964(a)
http://www.supremelaw.org/decs/agency/private.att...
Criminal Investigator and Federal Witness: 18 U.S.C. 1510, 1512-13

The gov't doesn't use fuel and food in their inflation calculations. They are slick f***ers.

Also you will get fined if you did not withhold the correct amount. I hate giving more money but you have to get the correct amount withheld to pay the tax bill to avoid the small fine. You can claim more exemptions now and adjust later in the year to avoid giving to much intrest free money to the IRS. I wonder if the withholding reduction stimulis change by BO will cause people to have to pay a fine in April 15, 2010?

[...] From my article at BIG GOVERNMENT. [...]

It's important to note this because Obama's ENTIRE campaign was centered around this pledge of no taxes for those under $250,000.

So what… he lied. Name me a politician whom doesn't have a lie under his/her belt? I guess it doesn't bother me because it is the norm for politics. I'm not saying I like it, I'm just saying it is par for the course so I'm not letting it upset me.

Then you must be one of the lucky ones, because mine didn't.

That's not necessarily always true. I definitely agree with the healthcare needing to be better in this country, but hopefully some of our money will slowly fix that. But it will take a very long time to see results. But you have to start somewhere. As far as a good education, there needs to be some context put into that. Besides, a large majority of that has to deal with State governments, not Federal. I definitely agree with you on the crappy infrastructure, although that is mostly State as well.

Dear Sociopaths:
If you don't want the IRS to withhold as much tax, claim more allowances on your W-4. Like the "birther" non-controversy, this is much ado about nothing.

You guys have been fooled again by the incessant right-wing noise emitted from fellow sociopaths Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity. ACORN has been charged with, let alone convicted of, nothing.

How about joining we progressives in fighting against the *actual* causes of the new American depression, the military industrial complex. You rail against ACORN while ignoring the massive fraud and criminal behavior of the multinational corporations that OWN congress and literally write the laws. See, for example:
http://www.contractormisconduct.org/index.cfm?sor...

By the way, the original tea party was a protest against government favoring big business by unfairly FAILING TO TAX the British East India company, the original "Wal-Mart ".

Learn some history and focus your sights on the things that really matter…or we're all totally screwed.

Hello Larry, I mean Mr. Gibbs, you can get back to the White House now!

In case you have been living in a cave lately, WE ARE TOTALLY SCREWED, and it is because of the progressives like you!

Thank you for posting an excellent fact-based description of the "cash-flow trick" included in last year's stimulus package. It eerily reminds me of the "hide the decline" approach to climate change. Please continue to provide reporting we can believe in. Regards, Tom

Larry is right on. If anyone takes the time to load the withholding tables into a spreadsheet and compare 2008-2009-2010 withholding schedules, they will see the 2009-2010 adjustment is a very small adjustment accounting for the 400$ credit being withheld along a longer (full vs. partial year) schedule. Further, it is a mistake to compare only 2010's schedule to 2009's, since the REAL 2009 schedule was ~1/4 2009 original (essentially 2008's) and ~3/4 2009 adjusted (by the stimulus legislation). The 2008 withholding schedule was much more aggressive than the 2009 withholding schedule when the 2009 schedule is adjusted for the changes being made partway through 2009, and 2010's schedule is even less aggressive than 2009's. The bottom line is that anyone who takes the time to analyze the data will come to the same conclusion that 2010 has a more generous federal income tax withholding schedule than did 2008 or the aggregate of 2009-original & 2009-adjusted.

I am no fan of Obama's, but this blog post was much ado about nothing … which is a shame, considering there are so many other valid points to go after thanks to the current and past administrations. It is even more of a shame when someone like Larry who goes about a rational analysis to address the author's misinterpretation of data is dismissed out of hand because he does not appear to be rooting for your team at the moment and because folks are too lazy or disinterested to run the numbers themselves.

You are so correct,our Republic was hi-jacked.
People do not understand that they are Sovereign in their own right,that was the main purpose of the civil war to stop Federalists.

Example States presume a person working for an extended period of time in a State sets up resident status,but this cannot be as it would require one to surrender their Sovereignty,this means simply that one surrenders their rights to take on the restrictions of a privilage in which would otherwise be a right.

I love it. The free ride is coming to an end. Finally Americans are going to have to pay for wars, houses, cars, and all the other garbage they bought on credit. Taxes will be going up more. Prices will be going up more. The only positive I can think of is that the lies by the politicians are already topped out at 100%.

This article had nothing to do with Beck, Hannity, ACORN and the like. Perhaps reading comprehension ( thats a really big word!) and not math is your problem.

This quick paying down will allow the Treasury to buy back bonds held by other countries including the largest holder China.
Once out of debt and a few other changes such as preventing the sell of U.S Treasury notes it will prevent inflation,as the amounts of Treasury in circulation could be reduced,and the personal income tax would no longer be needed.
Do a little research on how the Federal, Reserve was created,who was/is responsible and you'll discover that it was the same people that helped create the Federal Reserve also introduced the legislation that created the IRS and personal income tax,they had to because they needed a machine to generated revenues to pay the interest on the notes being printed,the sad part is the Federal Reserve never risk a single cent to print the notes because the notes are based on the national GDP,but they have been destroying that with unfair global trading such as NAFTA.

This problem could easily be solved by a wee bit of legislaton: Only net tax-*payers* should be allowed to vote. Really simple, and eliminates, once and for all, the conflict of interest that arises when folks who recieve more money from the gubmint than they pay-in, are allowed to vote.

If you go back to 1970 and look at the tax tables and look at them for each year after that you will see that they have been rising ever since then and before. The trend line has almost always been higher. Are you now wondering why you cannot find the tax tables from prior years on the Internet? hahah. All of this fighting about taxes over the years is just a false argument. Taxes have been going up no matter whether it is a Republican or a Democrat in office. Both parties are responsible for this. When are Americans going to realize that they are actually just being huckstered every 2 and 4 years about tax rates. The main difference is what the money is spent on. Republicans like wars so that their private contractor friends can get rich. Democrats also like them for the same reason. Republicans claim that they don't like welfare, but for some reason the Health and Welfare bill keeps going up, and with the Republicans they have other giveaways to the rich too. The Democrats raise the Social Security and food stamps 2% and lower the corporate welfare by 2%. The Republicans do the opposite. For some reason the total bill is higher every 4 years, no matter who is in office. Now Obama has inherited a depression, while the banks and Wall Street have inherited a trillion dollars in free money just so they don't go broke. Half came from Bush and half came from Obama. I mean, the central tenant of their whole philosophy that they constantly preach is that if a company fails it is not a bad thing because new things spring from that. I guess that one thing that most people don't realize is that it takes so many dollars to run this country and politicians have to play games so that the people accept the bill. There is an alternative but the average person won't do it. That is to go back to the dusty roads that existed before they started taxing people. Back then people mainly walked where they went or rode horses. We could have millions of people starving like in Africa. Many people in this country advocate this, but it would just show us how no class they are. We happen to have a country that has a lot of fancy things and most of us want to keep it that way. We are already the lowest taxed people in the industrialized world by the government. Unfortunately, the corporations seem to want to tax us a lot for things like health insurance and hospital care. Maybe we need to start trying to see how we can improve things instead of everybody worrying that they are going to have to pay a little more than somebody else. Even more it is time we pitched together as a country instead of one group trying to work another group into disfavor! Don't people realize that these are extraordinary times, and things could change forever in this country for the worse.

Yemen is in Asia. You are a moron.

Explain how you would calculate inflation in terms of gas and hotdogs?

Give to Cesar what is Cesar’s. Give to God what is God’s.
It is time to start walking away and don’t look back.
Let them eat the oil and gold. There are other ways to live.
I think it is time to get back to basics. Live with what you have.
Do not borrow. The book that lays out the basic rules of how to
live you can find in any hotel or motel. You do not have to believe it
just read it and learn some very important lessons on how to live. No matter how things change they will always remain the same. Do not fear
what is coming embrace it as an opportunity to start fresh. Let the money changers and the loan sharks eat their profits. When the price is higher than the value there is no opportunity for gain and violates our constitution and bill of rights. Just Walk away with no fear there is no deters prison in the united states. It is time for passive resistance and civil disobedience. Those rights we have that can not be taken away we have the right to say no more. We have the right not to work. We have the right not to sped every dime to fill their pockets. WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO SAY NO MORE!

Which is why all of them need to go, and the Constitution honored, and by the way much of what the government spends money on is not constitutional. It is time to close borders, stop pretending that our nation was founded to take in those from other countries, that is false! It was founded for religious freedom from the British throne. It is time to stop giving In State Tuition to illegals, stop giving them medical care, and give them an incentive to go back. I don't want to provide any service to anyone unwilling to take care of themselves! To anyone out there without. health insurance I say this, JOIN THE MILITARY, yo anyone without a job I say if you are young enough join the MILITARY. IN THE WORDS OF BEN FRANKLIN THE BEST THING ONE CAN DO FOR THE POOOR IS MAKE THem UNCOMFORTABLE IN THEIR POVERTY. IT ENCOURAGES WORK! I'll take care of me you take care of you. If I choose to help you my choice not deemed by law.

Which is why it is time to clean out the entire house and senate. I think you miss the point if you think we don't know that.

Silly people, the US owes China nothing…. The Chinese do not even have a convertible currency, the world banks allow the Chinese to 'float' their currency. The US needs to first 'valuate' the US Dollar to the Chinese Won… 1 US Dollar equals One Trillion Chinese Won, then the balance of trade is the US owes China two cents US. Second… The Chinese owe the world banks trillion and trillions of dollars (Hard currency, not play money) The same banks that by the way now owe the US taxpayer Trillions of Dollars. The world banks are playing a shell game, and ripping off the American people from various angles, Boot out the Federal Reserve, cancel their debt. Confiscate gold reserves held by Federal Reserve, and the worldwide banks who control the Fed.

The 2009 tables were revised to give folks $400 over the rest of the year, but didn't account for the fact that the "making work pay" credit phases out when you get to a higher income. The tables were intended to be used starting April 1, so this $400 had to be compressed into 9 months.

The 2010 tables account for the phase out of this $400 credit, and lower the tax-free threshold to spread the $400 credit over 12 months, not 9. Let me know when you find something more insidious

Remember that incentive check we got, well, they are taking it back, PLUS. Being Retired Military and a Civil Servent, both my incomes came down. So you figure, no pay increase for 2010, plus the increase in taxes per person. Now we understand how Mr Obama and his Co-harts will stick it back on US. In other words, lets make them feel good and then give them the shaft.

I strongly suggest taht you look into the Tea Party. They drove off the RINO Florida State Party Chairman and are supporiing Constitutional Conservatives as candidates. Character counts. They vet the candidates they endorse and we can win with good people. Party hacks, Republican or Democrat need to be voted out.

That's what all you jackasses get for voteing for OBAMA!!!!! You all think he is going to give you something and he did. Guess what what it was????

That is just not true. There is no increase in taxes this year. The Making Work Pay Credit caused the change in the tax thresholds. I can't comment on the COLA because it doesn't effect me, but I do know that the CPI has gone down, so the prices, in general, of things have come down, so the COLA should be needed. The writer of this article is using smoke and mirrors to deceive people. Let's do the math: If I'm single making $3373 per bi-weekly pay period (which I am not, but it is the top of the new 30% range, my withholding will be $680.33 per pay period. ($3373-3248=$125 x 30% = $37.50+$642.83= $680.33). This is an effective tax rate of 20.17% not including possible deductions or other income that would change for the taxpayer. The old withholding for the same tax payer comes to $680.87 per pay period. ($3373-2559=$814 x 28% = $227.92+$452.95 = $680.87) This is an effective tax rate of 20.19%, which is actually higher. So how is this a tax increase?

Please explain how you did your math? If your withholding went up that much, chances are your employer is using the wrong tax table or they changed your exemptions. The only other explanation would be if you are making considerably more money and are in a higher tax bracket. If you look at the tables there is nowhere that a withholding increase is calculated at $280 per pay period.

As for the "HUMP", I assume you are talking about the 30% increase. If you notice, below that range (which is incidently only $125 at the 30% rate which equals 37.50 of additional withholding per pay period or only $2.50 above the 28% for the same range last year) the tax rate is reduced from 28% to 27%. This range of $644 is now taxed 1% lower, or $6.44 reduction per pay period. The purpose of this "HUMP" is to account for the phase out of the MWP Credit. It is disingenous to point out the "HUMP" without mentioning the comparatively large "DIVOT" in front of it.

I showed you the math. You show me where it is anything more than what I said it was. Of course their take home went back down because the MWP Credit is spread out over a YEAR instead of 9 MONTHS. I never said the take home wouldn't go down. So, look at the tables in the article above and show me where someone is going to see an increase of $280 or $399 in their withholding. The only explanation is less exemptions, more income, or the payroll department is using the wrong tax table.

BTW, make sure you tell your employees to claim the MWP Credit on their 2009 Income Tax Return because they won't show up in the tax tables. It's an extra step, but it could be worth as much as $800 on their returns.

I though Hitler a his staff was dead

It won't be a check it will be a voucher that may be redemmed (or not) sometimein the future. Harold

Amazing! You gripe about a $10 withholding increase (that you'll get back anyway), while credit card companies arbitrarily increase rates and payments (that cost you thousands), and that's acceptable. The government is dealing with problems CAUSED by trans-national corporations and bankers, and you believe it's "over regulation" that has caused it. Morons…..It's not about Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal. It's about corporate personhood, and until we take the rights of citizenship away from business, the situation will continue to get worse.

I, too ,believe we MUST, I REPEAT, MUST, change the dynamics in Washington. They are becoming richer every year they are in office, to the detriment of the average citizen. They do not work any harder or smarter than the private sector, but reward themselves with raises and perks, and encourage us to take pay cuts for the sake of bettering the economy. I never though I would say this in my life, but they all need to go. I will not vote for a single incumbent in the next election, no matter my political affiliation. THROW THE BUMS OUT ENMASS. Whoever we get won't be any worse, and their first lesson will be they better work FOR the citizens, instead of to enrich themselves, or they will be out the next election.

Taxes ARE NOT going up. Withholding is higher. The reason the Withholding and 941 payment liability is higher is because the Making Work Pay Credit is spread over 12 months instead of 9 months like last year. If withholding is kept the same, taxpayers will withhold more than the $400 for single, $800 for married that is allowed with the MWP credit. Look at the tables and compare the numbers.

It really is simple. For the life of me I can't believe how many people are unable to grasp this concept. Of course, articles by the likes of the one above and the one you posted do little to INFORM the people who read them.

The withholding table changed. Everyone uses the same withholding tables. If you don't qualify for the credit, it's still just an adjustment to withholding because the withholding was lower over the final nine months of last year to make up for the three months before the credit was implemented. Use the tables in the story above. Pick any biweekly gross pay figure you want and calculate it out and show me where the tax increase is. I did it for the top of the bracket which doesn't qualify for the credit either, $15,000.00, and it actually shows lower tax withholding. This would be someone who makes $390,000 a year, single, and they aren't even seeing a tax increase.

If you don't qualify for the credit this year, but did qualify for it last year, you will see an increase in your tax.

If you didn't qualify for it this year or last year, you will see an increase in your withholding, but your tax will be the same.

Gonna have me some mo kiddos!

Obviously written before the Massachusetts Massacre. I notice that they care a whole lot now, if not about what we want then at least about how they can CONVINCE us they care about what we want. Especially those up for election in a few short months. It's such a joy seeing my senator, Evan Bayh, saying something other than "My party needs me."

As the article states, the increase in withholding can easily be offset by simply changing your W4 form, which every worker has the right to do every year. The marginal tax rates between '09 and '10 are virtually unchanged.

Or everyone can just cry and wring their hands. Whatever's easier.

Thank you.

Morons don't realize that withholding has nothing, zero, zilch, nada to do with how much you owe the government at the end of the year. Apparently the author of this hit piece does, but she goes out of her way to be as unobjective and uninformative as possible to piss off the unwashed. Thank God someone here has a brain.

[...] I had read that California is doing this. I hadn’t realized the Feds are following suit. [...]

This article brought up some red flags for me. My husband is a salary employee. His first paycheck in 2010 was decreased by almost $5. The increase in Federal Income Tax on his pay stub was increased by that exact same amount. I called his employer to see why the increase in the tax because like others, I was under the impression that there was to be NO tax increases for 2010. The employer had no idea, but promised to look into it. I then called my payroll dept. where I worked (my department has since been eliminated and as of Feb. 8th, I will be another statistic) to see what they had to say.

My company is a large private company and usually encloses explanations of changes in taxes with our final paycheck of 2009. We did not receive that notification. When I called to speak with them, they didn't have a clue as to why the change. I didn't want to do it, because I knew it would be quite the hassle, but I did end up calling the IRS here in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There was a number given specific to Individual Federal Income Tax. I called and spoke w/a lady who didn't know anything but she was glad to pass me on to another person. This person said, "I don't keep up on those things, but I will put you through to someone who can help you." Keep in mind that this is a number given SPECIFIC to Individual Income Tax questions. The third person too about 15 min. to tell me that the amount was PROBABLY the end of the making work pay tax credit. She really didn't know, but that was her best guess – my words, not hers.

"the government is still taking MORE money from us to pay for THEIR mistakes"

please explain.

There is no tax increase. A withholding increase does not equal tax increase.

Taxes have been reduced for 95% of americans since Bush left office.

If your income is the same and your deductions are the same, I 100% guarantee you will pay the exact same Federal Income Tax when you file in 2010 as you will when you file in 2009. And if everything is the same, there is a 95% chance you will be paying less than you paid in 2008. Now your local and state taxes I can't say the same thing.

If this is a way to drive people into a forced savings program, I am all for it. The Dems are not worried about catching up with the spending in 2009 because they have their plates full trying to make up for the gigantic deficits The Pubs Leader Bush left for Medicare and the Iraq War. Wake up people!

For someone with a stable income and known deductions, its not that hard to predict the tax liability that will be owed at the end of the year. Divide that by the number of pay periods and adjust withholding accordingly. See IRS PUB 15 for withholding tables for the tax year to figure out how many exemptions you need to claim. I own a home in CA so I have a lot of mortgage deductions and do this every year. I usually get a refund less than $50, but my paycheck every two weeks is a couple of hundred extra. Penalties start applying if you owe more than $1000, I believe. I always shoot for a small refund as a cushion

Is Steve from FatWallet? This is one of the few comments that is worth reading. There is no tax increase, just an increase in withholding. It would appear to be a way to get an interest free loan, all the while giving the consumer a bigger tax refund at the end of the year. After all, if most Americans won't save their money, at least Uncle Sam can help with that.

For me, the most telling moment came during the campaign at one of Barry's "town hall" forums – a young woman stood up and asked the question, "As a student, and young woman, I want to ask what's in your programs for me?" Here was a chance for Barry to remind her of JFK's famous quote, "Ask not….." But instead, for the next 20 minutes or so, he spent time explaining to her all the things he was going to do for her in an Obama administration. How low have we sunk as a nation . . .

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That's what I'm thinking. Why don't all of us normal employees go on strike and not work for a week or two. That should bring them around to hearing us…maybe.

Is it fun living outside of reality? I personally dont relish the idea of giving the government an interest free loan for the course of a year when they get enough of my money now. Perhaps you should pay attention to some of our more liberal states that are now bankrupt and giving ious in the place of refunds. How long until the feds have to do the same thing? That would be close enough to a tax increase for my wallet. Wise up and lower your withholding so that the government will have to start living within its means like the rest of the country. Oh wait, libs in charge, just raise the taxes, its for a good cause.