Marriage penalty relief DECREASES after election - anyone care?

[papau]

The marriage penalty relief begins in 2003 - the year we are filing now - with two special provision's:

First - the standard deduction for "married" is set at 200% of the standard deduction for "single"

and second, the 15% bracket is extended for "married" so that it does not end until your income reaches 200% of the point where it ends for "single".

BUT THAT IS ONLY IN 2003.

In 2004, those percentages drop to 174% on the standard deduction, and 180% on the 15% bracket size, and do not go back to 200% until 2009 for the standard deduction, and 2008 for the size of the 15% bracket.

INDEED THE ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAX RELIEF IS ONLY FOR 2003 AND 2004 - then it drops back 2000 tax year levels.

AND THE CHILD CREDIT OF $1000 drops for tax year 2005 to $700!

But the good news is the the break point for married filing jointly in 2004 between the "adjusted" income taxed at 33% or less, and the adjusted income taxed at 35%, is increased to $319,100. So you can get the lower tax on an additional $7,150 of adjusted income in 2004, compared to your return in 2003 - assuming you have adjusted income in excess of $319,100 in 2004. I just hate to have too much of my income over $300,000 per year taxed at 35%.

[Turbineguy]

1. Shhhh! Nobody is supposed to notice that

now shut-up and remember: Vote for the Chimp!

[redqueen]

2. We care, sure

But most Americans don't even KNOW, so how can they care?

Hope this is the kind of stuff that the hosts on Air America plan to start making hay with. :)

[Frodo]

3. This was intentional.

The only thing better for a republican than getting a Democrat to vote against a tax cut in an election year is.... getting him/her to do it twice!

"Sunsetting" some of the tax cuts for election years lowers the official "cost" of the tax cut AND ensures that the issue comes up again just in time for the election.

WE did it with the assault weapons ban. The gun issue has been moving steadily away from us for the last several years, but outlawing "assault weapons" is almost a no-brainier. It was such a "winning" issue to us that we wanted to make sure it came up again in an election year. So we set it up to expire right about now. Republicans will now be on record voting AGAINST an assault weapons ban that most people think is already "the law". That's easy to spin as voting FOR putting assault weapons in people's hands!


Same thing here. If we don't vote for an extension of the marriage penalty relief we will be spun as voting FOR an increase in taxes on married people. If it passes they can take credit for "cutting taxes" again.