OMG if it isnt another stupid farce. I fall for this crap everytime & dangit it makes me mad. Affordable Care Jacked Claim: A bevy of tax increases were quietly imposed upon Americans in January 2015 due to the Affordable Care Act. MOSTLY FALSE Example: [Collected via e-mail, August 2014] OUR NEW 2015 TAXES DUE Those that think this is the way to improve the economy might as well delete now. A reminder for those who forgot or for many that didnt know: Here is what will happen on January 1, 2015: Top Income Tax bracket went from 35% to 39.6% Top Income Payroll Tax went from 37.4% to 52.2% Capital Gains Tax went from 15% to 28% Dividend Tax went from 15% to 39.6% Estate Tax went from 0% to 55% Remember this fact: These taxes were all passed only with democrat votes, no republicans voted for these taxes. These taxes were all passed under the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare. If you think that it is important that everyone in the U.S. should know this, pass it on. If not, then delete it. Origins: This item about a collection of U.S. tax increases which were supposedly enacted as of 1 January 2015 due to the provisions of the Affordable Care Act was circulated widely at the beginning of 2015, but it was merely an updated version of identical claims circulated the previous year that set 1 January 2014 or 1 July 2014 as the imposition date for those tax increases. Although the tax increases listed in this item did come to pass, they took effect at the beginning of 2013 (not 2014 or 2015), were completely unrelated to the Affordable Care Act, applied only to very high-income earners, and have been overstated in this list. These tax hikes were enacted through the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, a compromise bill pushed through Congress as a partial resolution to the then-looming fiscal cliff crisis. Under the provisions of that bill: The top marginal federal income tax rate increased from 35% to 39.6% The top marginal tax rate on long-term capital gains increased from 15% to 20% (not 28%). The top marginal tax rate on dividends increased from 15% to 20% (not 39.6%). Estate taxes increased from 35% of an estates value in excess of $5,120,000 (in 2012) to 40% of the value above $5,340,000 (in 2014). Its important to note that the increase in marginal tax rates for federal income tax, capital gains, and dividends affected only those persons with taxable incomes over a $400,000 (single)/$450,000 (married) threshold. Its also important to note that the previous estate tax rate of 0% was a special rule that applied only to the estates of persons who died in 2010 (the estate tax has since been increased to 35% for those who died in 2011 and 40% for those who died in 2012 and thereafter), and even today an estate tax filing is required only for estates with gross assets in excess of $5 million (indexed for inflation). The lists reference to an income payroll tax increase from 37.4% to 52.2% is something of a mystery, as this is not a standard term for any type of government income- or payroll-related tax. The only adjustment to payroll-related taxes resulting from the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 was that a two-year old cut to payroll taxes which had previously reduced the rate from 6.2% to 4.2% for 2011 and 2012 was not extended. Additionally, this items coda claiming that not one Republican voted to do these taxes is completely false. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 passed Congress by a margin of 89-8 in the Senate with 40 Republican votes in favor, and a margin of 257-167 in the House with 85 Republican votes in favor. (The original claim undoubtedly refers to the House or Representatives voting in 2010 to pass the health-care reform bill without a single Republican vote in favor, but that association is moot because, as noted, the tax increases listed above had nothing to do with that bill.) Last updated: 2 January 2015 Urban Legends Reference Pages © 1995-2015 by snopes. This material may not be reproduced without permission. snopes and the snopes logo are registered service marks of snopes. Read more at snopes/politics/taxes/whathappened.asp#XWfJb4c6kTPiQsAS.99
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:57:31 +0000
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