Tag Archives: Obama

Obama pushes to keep low student loan rates

President Obama will use his bully pulpit to urge lawmakers to prevent a doubling of interest rates on federally subsidized student loans.
College savings advice – CNNMoney.com

Obama Budget Triggers Retirement Changes

BOSTON (TheStreet) — Within the pages of President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2013 budget proposal are several initiatives that could have a direct impact on your retirement strategy, including deduction limits for high-income 401(k) investors and a mandate for employer-offered IRA plans.

Brian Graff, executive director and CEO of the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries, lambasted the president’s proposals to limit the tax benefit for retirement savings for families earning over $ 250,000 as a “double tax on contributions” and “bad policy based on bad math.”

Initiatives in President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2013 budget proposal could have a direct impact on retirement strategies.

The budget seeks to reduce the value of itemized deductions and other tax preferences. It would limit the tax rate at which high-income taxpayers can reduce their tax liability to a maximum of 28%, affecting only married taxpayers filing a joint return with income over $ 250,000 and single taxpayers with income over $ 200,000. This limit would apply to all itemized deductions; foreign excluded income; tax-exempt interest; employer-sponsored health insurance; and retirement contributions.

What Is The Buffett Rule President Obama Proposed?

The Buffett Rule, as the media has taken to calling President Obama’s tax proposal, is simply a way to say that anyone who earns over $ 1,000,000 per year must pay a personal income tax rate of at least 30%.  It is designed to make sure a hedge fund manager or other financially savvy earner that knows the tax code can’t dodge paying the same rate a successful baseball player or television personality would on their paycheck.  It should come as no surprise that The Buffett Rule was named after legendary value investor Warren Buffett, who has been a proponent of the concept.

The downside of The Buffett Rule is it is not as simple as it sounds.  Frankly, it’s not entirely fair when you factor in that many people paying so-called “low” rates have already paid taxes once through their holding entities.  It also doesn’t solve the fundamental, structural issues in the tax code and could inevitably lead to the same sort of monstrous results and unintended consequences things such as the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) did in the end, hitting middle class families over the years instead of solely the high-end, rich tax payers it was designed to ensnare when it was conceived.

What Is The Buffett Rule President Obama Proposed? originally appeared on About.com Investing for Beginners on Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 at 04:10:57.

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Obama to offer plan to aid students buried in debt

President Obama is expected to announce measures aimed at helping college graduates climb out of their student loan debt hole.
College savings advice – CNNMoney.com