The Morning Bell by Heritage

To ensure email delivery directly to your inbox, please add
morningbell@heritage.org to your address book now.

If you're having trouble viewing this message, please view it online.


01/08/2013
13 Tax Increases in 2013

New Year’s Day was tough for taxpayers. Thirteen tax increases kicked in.

The deal that Congress and President Obama struck that finally—but only partially—avoided the fiscal cliff resulted in seven tax increases.

Those hikes combined with six tax increases from Obamacare that also began on New Year’s Day.

13 Tax Increases That Started January 1, 2013

Tax increases in the fiscal cliff deal:

1. Payroll tax: increase in the Social Security portion of the payroll tax from 4.2 percent to 6.2 percent for workers. This hits all Americans earning a paycheck—not just the “wealthy.” For example, The Wall Street Journal calculated that the “typical U.S. family earning $50,000 a year” will lose “an annual income boost of $1,000.”

2. Top marginal tax rate: increase from 35 percent to 39.6 percent for taxable incomes over $450,000 ($400,000 for single filers).

3. Phase out of personal exemptions for adjusted gross income (AGI) over $300,000 ($250,000 for single filers).

4. Phase down of itemized deductions for AGI over $300,000 ($250,000 for single filers).

5. Tax rates on investment: increase in the rate on dividends and capital gains from 15 percent to 20 percent for taxable incomes over $450,000 ($400,000 for single filers).

6. Death tax: increase in the rate (on estates larger than $5 million) from 35 percent to 40 percent.

7. Taxes on business investment: expiration of full expensing—the immediate deduction of capital purchases by businesses.

Obamacare tax increases that took effect:

8. Another investment tax increase: 3.8 percent surtax on investment income for taxpayers with taxable income exceeding $250,000 ($200,000 for singles).

9. Another payroll tax hike: 0.9 percent increase in the Hospital Insurance portion of the payroll tax for incomes over $250,000 ($200,000 for single filers).

10. Medical device tax: 2.3 percent excise tax paid by medical device manufacturers and importers on all their sales.

11. Reducing the income tax deduction for individuals’ medical expenses.

12. Elimination of the corporate income tax deduction for expenses related to the Medicare Part D subsidy.

13. Limitation of the corporate income tax deduction for compensation that health insurance companies pay to their executives.

Each of these 13 tax increases will slow the economy, meaning that businesses will create fewer jobs. Fewer jobs will make it even more difficult to land a job than it already is for the more than 12 million Americans looking for work.

President Obama demanded these higher taxes. Obama's tax increases, in Obamacare and through the fiscal cliff deal, will not curb deficits and debt, because growing spending is driving America's budget crisis. Congress needs to immediately turn its attention to the actual cause of our deficit and debt problem: too much spending. The proper way to address this problem is through reforms to entitlement programs.

President Obama promised the American people a “balanced approach” of tax increases and spending cuts to reduce deficits and debt. He has achieved the tax increase portion of that approach. Now Congress needs to force him to follow through on the spending cuts portion.




Print | Comments | Forward

FEATURED POSTS

By Banning U.S. Adoption of Russian Orphans, Russia Shot Itself in the Foot

South Carolina Beats DOJ (Again) Over Voter ID Law

Chart of the Week: Government Spending Drives Debt Limit Higher

VIDEO: Interview with Jim DeMint on Family and Work (Part 3)

Best of the Morning Bell in 2012

QUICK HITS

“In its latest annual report for fiscal year 2011 to 2012, Planned Parenthood reveals that it performed 333,964 abortions in 2011 – a record year for the organization,” reports The Washington Examiner.

Former Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and her husband, Mark Kelly, have started a new campaign to “launch a national dialogue and raise funds to counter influence of the gun lobby.” It is called Americans for Responsible Solutions.

A group of Harvard doctors is calling for a “new, substantial national tax on all firearms and ammunition.”

Unemployment across the eurozone hit an all-time high of 11.8 percent in November. Spain had the highest unemployment at 26.6 percent, followed by Greece at 20 percent.

Today on Istook Live!, Ernest Istook will be talking with guests on school safety, the action on Capitol Hill, unemployment, and the latest on government regulation. Tune in online from 9 a.m. to noon ET.





Know anyone who shares your conservative values and principles and may want to receive the Heritage Foundation newsletters? Please refer them to Heritage today!

Connect with Heritage

Facebook Twitter YouTube Kindle Flickr
Support our work by becoming a member. Donate today.
The Heritage Foundation
214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4999
Call us at (202) 546-4400
Add morningbell@heritage.org to your address book
to ensure that you receive emails from us.

Morning Briefing

For January 8, 2013
Somewhere in America, a Notre Dame fan thinks God is smiting them for letting Barack Obama speak on campus. Really, the answer is much simpler than that — just root for the SEC. For those of you adamantly anti-Alabama, Joe Scarborough might just be insufferable for you this morning. Fair warning.
1. Harry Reid Plotting to Abolish the Filibuster
There is no breathing room this year for those of us who fight endless GOP capitulations in Washington. Within the first few weeks of the new session, we must confront a grave assault on the Filibuster in the Senate.
Harry Reid is plotting some version of the “nuclear option” to limit the filibuster when the Senate convenes to adopt the rules package for the new Congress. It essentially works like this. Every rules change in the Senate requires a 67-vote threshold to adopt the change. Harry Reid is offering the absurd argument that the Senate is not a continuous body, and is therefore not governed by the rules of the previous session on the first day of the new Congress (before the rules package is adopted). With that in mind, he plans to abolish the filibuster on “the motion to proceed” and limit the minority’s ability to offer amendments when they vote on the rules package. He plans to do this with a simple majority vote.
Although the Senate already convened last Thursday, Reid used a parliamentary procedure blocking any adjournment of the Senate, so that the body will technically remain in its first “legislative day.” This will provide him with the opportunity to pull the trigger later this month. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →
>> Today's Sponsor
2. Witness Protection Program Needed: Obama’s NLRB Gives Unions License To Intimidate & Retaliate Against Witnesses
It’s a strange thing when, in a democracy*, dissent is stifled by those that presume to value dissent.
Notwithstanding the union-backed effort to end Senate filibusters, time and time again, both publicly and behind-the-scenes, Barack Obama and his union cronies and backers work to stifle–even purge and eradicate–any form of dissent if it does not benefit union bosses.
What’s worse is the fact that this trend is becoming the official labor policy of the United States. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →
3. Blackburn: ‘America Deserves Better Than Abortion’
POn January 4th, Congressman Marsha Blackburn introduced the first pro-life bill in the House for the 113th Congress. The Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act (H.R. 61) seeks to prevent the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from giving more money to abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood. In her statement, Blackburn points out that, in 2010, Planned Parenthood received over $340 million from the federal government under the Title X family planning program. . . . please click here for the rest of the post →
>> Today's Sponsor
Sincerely yours,

Erick Erickson
Editor-in-Chief, RedState

Guns Save Lives

Adam Lanza Only Fired 15 Shots From Some Magazines, Wore Earplugs to Newton School, Other New Details
More People Killed by Hammers, Clubs & Bats Each Year Than By Rifles
Summary of Current National Anti Gun Legislation and What You Can Do
FL Neighbor Holds 2 Burglars Who Had Robbed Several Homes at Gunpoint Until Police Arrive
Adam Lanza Only Fired 15 Shots From Some Magazines, Wore Earplugs to Newton School, Other New Details
Posted: 07 Jan 2013 02:06 PM PST
The Hartford Courant is reporting that Sandy Hook gunman, Adam Lanza, used only 15 rounds from some of the 30 round magazines he was carrying. They suggest video games are the reason that Lanza reloaded his weapon so frequently as this is a common practice in most first person shooter style video games. It is [...] Related posts:
68 Year Old Ohio Woman Fires 2 Shots From A .22 Derringer and Scares Off Violent Attacker
Family of Girl Who Was Shot by Boy Who Brought Gun to School Files $10 Million Dollar Lawsuit Against School
Texas Gun Training Class for School Teachers Sells Out, Over 400 Teachers Attend

More People Killed by Hammers, Clubs & Bats Each Year Than By Rifles
Posted: 07 Jan 2013 12:37 PM PST
Some gun control advocates say that we should control the availability of ammunition as a way to turn guns into nothing more than clubs. An article on Breitbart.com points out some interesting data from the FBI’s crime statistics. Why would they want to make rifles even more deadly?!? Each year more people are killed with [...] Related posts:
Dick’s Sporting Goods Suspends Sales of Semi Automatic Rifles
Man Who Tried to Force His Way Into Home is Shot, Killed by 66 Year Old Veteran With .357 Magnum
Dana Safety Supply Stops Selling Semi Auto Rifles to Civilians So Sheriff Pulls His Business

Summary of Current National Anti Gun Legislation and What You Can Do
Posted: 07 Jan 2013 09:02 AM PST
There is a lot going on with anti gun legislation right now. Multiple proposed bills have crept up in the House (which we will outline below) and several, including Feinstein’s sweeping “Assault Weapons” Ban are expected to be filed by Jan 22 in the Senate. Joe Biden is also working on a council setup by [...] Related posts:
GOP Official National Platform Document Includes Support For “Stand Your Ground” Legislation
[Video] Sheriff Scott Berry on National Television (Fox Business) – Nails It!
University of Colorado Says Professor Can’t Discriminate Against Students Carrying Guns to Class

FL Neighbor Holds 2 Burglars Who Had Robbed Several Homes at Gunpoint Until Police Arrive
Posted: 07 Jan 2013 07:18 AM PST
A homeowner in FL whose home had been burglarized last month was ready this time when he saw two would be burglars trying to break into his neighbor’s home. The homeowner followed the barking of his dogs to where the two suspects were hiding in the woods behind the houses. The homeowner held the suspects [...] Related posts:
GA Man Holds Man Robbing Neighbor’s Home At Gunpoint Until Police Arrive
CO Homeowner Holds Burglary Suspect At Gunpoint Until Police Arrive
MO Retired School Librarian Holds Three Thieves At Gunpoint Until Police Arrive

Russian Jet team

A Bunch of Old Guys and Civilians having FUN. ---------------

Super precision flying and photography. Just WOW !!

Tremendous video ... You want get in the cockpit, then watch this!

The thing is they're old guys and civilians.....Russian Jet Team - L-39s

This is one of the a very good videos of a civilian jet team that I have ever
seen - a really professional HD presentation by a guy named Artur Sarkisyan
of a Russian Jet Team in L-39's at the Arkhangelsk Show this summer. He uses
a lot of GoPro cameras and is a master editor of film. The inflight shots
are just fantastic.

https://vimeo.com/47120707

Wendy's Franchisee Slashes Employee Hours To Sidestep Obamacare

Is ANYBODY surprised by this?????? It's called business survival, and we should expect similar decisions to be widespread. If the idiots who created Obamacare don't destroy this country by their nutty rules, I can't imagine who or what will.

The Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/07/wendys-obamacare_n_2425066.html?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl2%7Csec3_lnk1%26pLid%3D253765

8 Deadly Agents 'To Bring U.S. To Its Knees'

http://www.wnd.com

Share this article!

Iranian scientists, working under orders from the radicals running the Islamic regime, have genetically altered microbial agents in a nightmarish scheme to bring the West to its knees.

According to a source in the Revolutionary Guards intelligence unit with knowledge of Iran’s microbial research and development, the scientists, with Russian and North Korean help, currently possess eight extremely dangerous microbial agents that, if unleashed, could kill millions of people.

As reported exclusively on WND on Dec. 16, the source revealed the existence of a plant in Marzanabad, Iran, where 12 Russian and 28 Iranian scientists are working on microbial agents for bombs.

At that time, the source disclosed that Iran was working on 18 agents, with four completed. He has now provided information that with work at two other plants, Iran has created a total of eight microbial agents, with research on insects to be used as the vector to infect the societies of its enemies.

The eight agents are anthrax, encephalitis (the blueprint of this virus, Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis, was provided by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in an agreement two years ago with the Islamic regime), yellow grain (developed with the help of North Korea), SARS, Ebola, cholera, smallpox and plague.

Iran, with North Korea’s help, has genetically altered the smallpox virus that makes current vaccinations useless against it. And research at two facilities that act as drug companies but are fronts for the deadly research shows insects can be used as the vector to carry plague, infamous as the “Black Death,” according to the source.

The outbreak of plague in the Middle Ages killed one-third of Europe’s population, and it resurfaced in the 19th century in Asia, killing millions in China and India.

Discover the astonishing double life of a CIA agent inside the Revolutionary Guards of Iran with Reza Kahlili’s “A Time to Betray,” from the WND Superstore!

The radicals ruling Iran believe their planned microbial attacks cannot be traced to them, the source said. Through various commerce channels and trade with Europe and even through Mexico into the U.S., the regime could release the infected insects and small rodents into populated cities, causing an epidemic that could possibly kill tens of millions of people, he said.

“The most dangerous biological weapons agents today are genetically modified or even synthetically created in a laboratory in ways that not only make them more contagious, infectious and lethal, but also are intended to defy existing vaccine countermeasures,” said Clare M. Lopez, a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy, a non-profit, non-partisan think tank based in Washington, D.C. “Among such (biological weapons) agents are (genetically-modified) strains of anthrax, plague and smallpox.

“The open-source literature consistently describes Russia and North Korea as sources of such strains and the scientific know-how to create and deploy them,” Lopez said.

“Likewise, Iran and Syria are reported to be among the recipients of such deadly (biological weapons) agents; each of these countries also has an extensive medical and pharmaceutical research and development infrastructure within which to produce (and also conceal) its BW programs.
Both Iran and Syria also have shared not only these pathogens, but the artillery, ballistic missile and munitions technology with each other and, likely, with Hezbollah as well, for delivery of such pathogens.”

Lopez said that insects such as fleas, flies and mosquitoes long have been recognized as natural vectors for the spread of deadly diseases and that disease-bearing insects have been used in warfare for centuries, perhaps most notoriously by the Japanese during WW II against China, causing the death of hundreds of thousands.

While cholera typically is not fatal if treated quickly, some strains can kill within hours. Bubonic plague has been the cause of some of the greatest pandemics in world history.

The Revolutionary Guards source added that the Islamic regime has already armed 37 of its ballistic missiles with microbial agents, which upon launch would spray targeted areas as opposed to an explosion. It has also armed cluster bombs with such agents, which could be dropped from fighter jets spraying an intended area.

What makes it worse, the source said, is that Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and other terrorist proxies of the regime have now been armed with microbial weapons. As reported in the Washington Times in August, chemical and microbial weapons have been transferred to Iran’s proxies in the region.

The West, with its soft approach on the radical regime in Iran, has provided the needed time not only for it to arm itself with some of the most deadliest biological weapons but also, with the help of North Korea, to get the nuclear bomb, and, despite what the West believes, is now working to arm its missiles with such weapons of mass destruction, the source said.

Kim Jung Un...

Kim Jung Un; "Leadership"!!!


Leadership... What could go wrong... We get to vote. Not like those third world country management...








Kim Jung Un had NO military experience whatsoever before Daddy made him a four-star general. This snot-nosed twerp had never accomplished anything in his life that would even come close to military leadership. He hadn't even so much as led a Cub Scout troop, coached a sports team, or commanded a military platoon. So he is made the "Beloved Leader" of North Korea . Terrific!

Oh shoot! I'm sorry. I just remembered that we did the same thing. We took an arrogant community organizer, who had never worn a uniform, and made him Commander-in-Chief. A guy, who had never had a real job, worked on a budget, or led anything more than an ACORN demonstration, and we made him President of the United States - - - - TWICE !!!

I'm sorry I brought this up. Never mind.

=
--