Wednesday, January 2, 2013
In his final days in office, Senator Scott Brown threw his support behind a new deal of fiscal cliff plan.
Calling the deal on the fiscal cliff "not perfect," outgoing US Senator Scott Brown (R-Wrentham) endorsed the plan in his final days in office. He says it ‘‘protects 99 percent of Americans from a massive tax increase," according to an Associated Press report. Brown had supported a no-tax pledge. The deal raises taxes on individual incomes over $400,000 and over $450,00 for household incomes and a portion of estates more than $5 million. The comprise allows Congress to have more time to work on government spending.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Congress is so focused on the fiscal cliff, the farm bill has yet to be renewed.
Come Jan. 1, there is a threat that milk prices could rise to $6 to $8 a gallon if Congress does not pass a new farm bill that amends farm policy dating back to the Truman presidency, reported the New York Times. If Congress does not renew the Farm Bill by Monday, Dec. 31, the milk price formula reverts back to 1949, reported CBS Boston. On average, a gallon of milk costs $3.65, according to the dairy industry. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said without a farm bill renewal farmers will be in a hurry to sell to the government, creating a shortage in the stores. It is estimated the price of milk could go as high as $8, he told the Capital Press. If the farm bill is not renewed the government will be forced to buy milk at inflated …
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
The congressman thinks both sides will reach a compromise at some point, but not before the end of the year. He noted "the world does not end January 1st."
In regard to the so-called fiscal cliff, Rep. Michael Capuano, who represents Milton's Precincts 1 and 5 in the new 7th Congressional District, does not think Democrats and Republicans will reach a "grand bargain" before January 1st. Speaking in Somerville after a groundbreaking ceremony for veterans housing, Capuano said, "We have to do something in the next couple of weeks," but added Congress will likely be dealing with the matter for a long time. "I think we'll be doing this for the foreseeable future," he said. "People have got to understand we'll reach a compromise at some point, but this is going to impact peoples daily lives," he said. The congressman agreed with some who think the term "fiscal cliff" might not be accurate. "I …
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
A study finds that Bay Staters will pay more if the child and college tuition tax credits expire.
More than half a million Massachusetts families will pay more in taxes if the federal government doesn't reach an agreement on the tax code by the end of the year, a study reported in the Boston Globe found. The child tax credit is set to expire if Congress doesn't reach a deal. The tax credit affects 562,000 lower- and middle-class familes, currently saving each about $1,000 a year. Another group of tax credits set to expire includes college tuition credits, an increase that would affect 217,000 families, according to the story. Small businesses would be affected if the federal government falls off the "fiscal cliff," too. If no deal is brokered, next year these businesses will only be able to claim $25,000 in deductions on new …
