White House Considers Delaying Tax Withholdings to

[GURPS]

White House Considers Delaying Tax Withholdings to Bully Republicans


Pretend you’re Barack Obama. Put on your crown and think hard. If the Republicans hold fast on taxes and the country goes over the fiscal cliff, the Bush tax cuts will expire and the middle class will get clobbered. How do you avoid being held responsible?

Easy. You simply have Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner adjust the withholding tables so that taxpayers don’t get hit as hard in their paychecks, and if you’re really determined to hold the feet of the wealthy 2% to the fire, leave their withholding alone.

This idea is being floated now. Bill Hoagland, senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center, explained, “If we were to, say, go over the cliff and the rates go up, he could modify those withholding tables such that the average employee out there would not effectively see any more or less taken out of his paycheck.”

 

[awpitt]

White House Considers Delaying Tax Withholdings to Bully Republicans


Pretend you’re Barack Obama. Put on your crown and think hard. If the Republicans hold fast on taxes and the country goes over the fiscal cliff, the Bush tax cuts will expire and the middle class will get clobbered. How do you avoid being held responsible?

Easy. You simply have Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner adjust the withholding tables so that taxpayers don’t get hit as hard in their paychecks, and if you’re really determined to hold the feet of the wealthy 2% to the fire, leave their withholding alone.

This idea is being floated now. Bill Hoagland, senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center, explained, “If we were to, say, go over the cliff and the rates go up, he could modify those withholding tables such that the average employee out there would not effectively see any more or less taken out of his paycheck.”

Not the best idea in the world since it will cause a short fall in withholding and people will end up owing taxes come April 2014.

 

[GURPS]

I believe that was the point of the article .... many people could be left writing a check in April 14th

 

[philibusters]

Not the best idea in the world since it will cause a short fall in withholding and people will end up owing taxes come April 2014.

I think that is what the article is hinting at. People would be furious if they owed taxes in April 2014 and blame the politicians. Thus, Obama can say, raise the tax on the upper tax bracket or I won't renew any of the tax cuts and if none of the tax cuts are renewed people will be furious because they'll owe money in 2014 and they'll blame you because clearly I was offering to reinstate the tax cuts except for people in the top tax bracket.

In other words, the article is saying Obama is looking for leverage. His goal is to reinstate the Bush Tax cuts so it never becomes an issue in April 2014, but he'll gain leverage because its a potential issue that Republicans will want to avoid.

 

[Lurk]

I believe that was the point of the article .... many people could be left writing a check in April 14th

Ah, yes. But the penalty for inadequate withholding plus the quarterly estimated tax payment requirement for years thereafter would increase the Federal income a whole lot more.

 

[aps45819]

Not the best idea in the world since it will cause a short fall in withholding and people will end up owing taxes come April 2014.

That's not a problem now, it's a problem a year from now

 

[Larry Gude]

This idea is being floated now. Bill Hoagland, senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center, explained, “If we were to, say, go over the cliff and the rates go up, he could modify those withholding tables such that the average employee out there would not effectively see any more or less taken out of his paycheck.”

Assuming, of course, they still have a paycheck.

I would think, if Obama is going to do this, he'd just start sending checks to everyone in the districts that voted for him and be done with it.

 

[Larry Gude]

Ah, yes. But the penalty for inadequate withholding plus the quarterly estimated tax payment requirement for years thereafter would increase the Federal income a whole lot more.

Why? If they can do this, why can't they just let that go?

I'm serious.


This is what was so horribly wrong with TARP; if you do something like that, if we do all this quantitative easing, what can't you do?

:shrug: