Author: James

Garrett: AMT Set to Ensnare More of Middle Class
By Rep. Scott Garrett
Dec 17, 2012

Without a change to current law, millions of American families will begin the new year with a rather costly and unwelcome gift delivered courtesy of the IRS.

In the absence of an alternative minimum tax fix, roughly 28 million taxpayers — about a third of all those who pay income taxes — will see their bill skyrocket.

The AMT hike translates roughly to an average increase of more than $3,200. To put this number in perspective, President Barack Obama’s proposed tax increases on the highest earners are set to bring in about $80 billion in additional revenues next year. The AMT hike will amount to $92 billion.

Created in 1969, the AMT is a parallel tax system originally intended to ensure that a small number of high-income households paid income tax. To this end, AMT rules prevent taxpayers from taking a number of popular deductions, including itemized deductions for state and local taxes, personal exemptions and other miscellaneous itemized deductions. In doing so, the AMT guarantees that certain households cannot deduct their way out of income taxes altogether.

Unfortunately, when the AMT was created, the income thresholds were not adjusted for inflation. Because of this, the AMT’s original income thresholds now threaten to capture millions of middle-income Americans. Over the decades, there have been a number of AMT “fixes” enacted into law to address this issue. The last such fix expired at the end of 2011.

Furthermore, as the AMT does not allow for a deduction of state and local taxes, residents of certain areas of the country are disproportionately affected by the tax. My home state of New Jersey, along with California and New York, are the top three states affected by the AMT in terms of number of filers per state. According to the Congressional Research Service, in New Jersey alone, this year nearly 2.2 million tax returns could be subject to the AMT.

But the AMT is by no means a parochial issue. In the absence of a fix, taxpayers in every state will be affected, especially taxpayers in certain demographics, such as married couples and those with large families.

The coming AMTmageddon is shaping up to be a logistical nightmare for the IRS. To prepare for the influx of tax returns, the IRS must pre-program its computer systems to reflect current tax law. This is impossible to do if there is uncertainty regarding the law.

Let me be frank: I do not have any sympathy for the IRS. I do, however, have much empathy for the taxpayer. In a recent letter to the Senate Finance Committee, acting IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller wrote that “there would be serious repercussions for taxpayers” if there is no AMT patch enacted by the end of the year. Because of other rules associated with the AMT, the IRS expects that without a fix, the returns of more than 60 million taxpayers could be affected by delayed filing, increased tax liabilities and slower refunds.

Given our nation’s economic health — and the millions of small businesses, individuals and families struggling to make ends meet — Congress must address the AMT extension to provide tax certainty and prevent a catastrophic tax hike.

At the very least, Congress and the president must avert the $92 billion AMT hike by extending the AMT patch for 2012. To this end, I recently led a bipartisan letter to Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, requesting that he make an AMT extension one of his top priorities in negotiations with the president and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to address the fiscal cliff.

Ultimately, I believe we must take even more aggressive steps to protect taxpayers by abolishing the AMT for individuals. The very existence of the AMT proves that the federal tax code is broken. A fair, effective and efficient tax code does not require a parallel system that adds confusion, complexity and cost.

But, until we can undertake a broader tax overhaul, let’s stop the AMT hike and head off a nasty case of tax sticker shock on April 15, 2013.

Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., serves on the Budget and Financial Services committees. He chairs the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises.

Ridgewood Teacher Louisa Luisi at Bookends This Saturday

Ridgewood Teacher Louisa Luisi at Bookends Saturday, December 22nd at 1:00pm, Ridgewood Teacher and Author, Louisa Luisi, will sign her new book: Your Best Coaches

Appearing authors will only autograph books purchased at Bookends and must have valid Bookends Receipt.Availability & pricing for all autographed books subject to change. Bookends cannot guarantee that the books that are Autographed will always be First Printings.
Autographed books purchased at Bookends are non-returnable.

While we try to insure that all customers coming to Bookends’ signings will meet authors and get their books signed, we cannot guarantee that all attendees will meet the author or that all books will be signed. We cannot control inclement weather, author travel schedules or authors who leave prematurely.

Bookends, 211 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 201-445-0726

Budget watchdogs have dubbed the 94-page emergency-spending bill “Sandy Scam.”
Obama Sandy aid bill filled with holiday goodies unrelated to storm damage
Vics suffer as $60B aid plan gets porked up
By S.A. MILLER and GERRY SHIELDS
Last Updated: 6:02 AM, December 15, 2012
Posted: 1:52 AM, December 15, 2012

WASHINGTON — President Obama’s $60.4 billion request for Hurricane Sandy relief has morphed into a huge Christmas stocking of goodies for federal agencies and even the state of Alaska, The Post has learned.

The pork-barrel feast includes more than $8 million to buy cars and equipment for the Homeland Security and Justice departments. It also includes a whopping $150 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to dole out to fisheries in Alaska and $2 million for the Smithsonian Institution to repair museum roofs in DC.

An eye-popping $13 billion would go to “mitigation” projects to prepare for future storms.

Other big-ticket items in the bill include $207 million for the VA Manhattan Medical Center; $41 million to fix up eight military bases along the storm’s path, including Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; $4 million for repairs at Kennedy Space Center in Florida; $3.3 million for the Plum Island Animal Disease Center and $1.1 million to repair national cemeteries.

Budget watchdogs have dubbed the 94-page emergency-spending bill “Sandy Scam.”

https://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/little_help_here_1kW6aQ8fElj4CKwbheEV0N

 

Holiday shoppers urged to stay local

MONDAY DECEMBER 17, 2012, 12:45 PM
BY MOLLY RAPAPORT
CORRESPONDENT
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

For village residents, Ridgewood retailers have two words: shop local.

“It’s the heartbeat of Ridgewood,” said Mango Jam owner Tony Damiano.

Expressing cautious optimism about sales this holiday season, local business owners strongly encourage village residents to shop close to home.

“I want to encourage all residents to patronize local shops first,” said Walter Boyer of Bookends. “It’s a tough business environment, and it can be better if people continue to think local.”

While the economy remains a challenge, small business owners are nonetheless seeing success.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/183807681_Holiday_shoppers_urged_to_stay_local.html

Ridgewood’s ‘Toy Hunter’ talks season’s hottest toys
MONDAY DECEMBER 17, 2012, 2:27 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

If you don’t yet have a holiday gift for the child or adult geek in your life, you better not cry – Ridgewood’s own “Toy Hunter” is already in town.

Even better, professional toy devotee Jordan Hembrough, a Ridgewood resident whose Travel Channel show about toy collecting aired its first season’s finale episode earlier this week, has shared some gift tips with The Ridgewood News.

For children, Hembrough suggested the new Furby or the collector’s edition holiday Barbie.

The animatronic Furby toys, said Hembrough, are selling out after recently being “reinvented” by Hasbro. The toy now can interact with other Furbies and even has a related iPhone app that can translate “Furbish” to English.

https://www.northjersey.com/community/183823181_Ridgewood_s__Toy_Hunter__talks_season_s_hottest_toys.html

 

Emily’s Hats for Hope Initiative

In December 2011, Emily, 17, realized she could help the homeless & working poor in her community by knitting warm winter hats for them. On December 27, 2011 Emily’s Hats For Hope Initiative was born. Since then Emily has been making a difference in the world, one hat at a time.

She has donated warm winter items to several NJ based outreach organizations, including soup kitchens in Morristown & Dover, the Father English Community Center in Paterson, the InterFaith Food Pantry in Morris Plains, & Trinity Church in Asbury Park. Hats were brought to Elmira, NY, and to the Second Congregational Church in Jeffersonville, Vermont. 1,100 hats were sent to the Jersey Shore for people drastically affected by Superstorm Sandy. We were asked by the organization “From Houses To Homes-Guatemala” to supply hats to women and children in Guatemala. We delivered hats, scarves, afghans, canned food, toiletries, etc to the residents of “Tent City” in Lakewood, NJ. These men and women lost their homes, cars, and jobs and are now living in the woods in Lakewood, NJ. We also donated hats to the Jersey Battered Women’s Shelter.

A number of members of Emily’s Facebook group have created independent “spin-offs” of Emily’s Hats For Hope Initiative in their home states of (2 in CA), FL, IA, IL, IN, KY, ME, MI, MO, NC, NE, NH, (2 in NJ), OK, PA, TN, (2 in VA) , WA and in Ontario, Canada and Denmark. We are in the process of starting a spin-off in Tijuana, Mexico, London, England and Australia along with several other states in the US. We also have independent spin-offs in Atlantic County & Ocean County, NJ for people to donate warm winter items for Hurricane Sandy relief. Emily’s long- term goal is to have a spin-off in every state & on every continent.

Emily started this Facebook group, which now has over 2,000 members. Many have sent hats, scarves, afghans & yarn to us as donations. She has received winter hats from as far away as Canada, Iceland, & England. It is phenomenal how much support her initiative has received from around the world!

Emily has received letters of recognition from NJ Assemblyman Anthony M. Bucco, NJ Governor Chris Christie and Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen. She was interviewed by NBC in NYC on the Evening Nightly News With Chuck Scarborough in July 2012 and has been interviewed by The Daily Record, The Morris Newsbee, and Morristown Patch (NJ newspapers).

Please join Emily as she continues towards her goal of 5,000 winter hats by her high school graduation in June 2013.

You can send winter hats, scarves, gloves, mittens, blankets, afghans to:

Emily’s Hats For Hope Initiative
PO Box 2374
Morristown, NJ 07962-2374
Website: https://emilyshatsforhopeinitiative.org/

New tree policy is taking shape in Ridgewood
MONDAY DECEMBER 17, 2012, 2:24 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

The Village Council is mulling over a proposed shade tree policy that, if approved, will bring changes that reflect environmental and economical concerns while fundamentally preserving Ridgewood’s identity as a community of tree-lined streets.

A new ordinance will also give the village the potential to launch a shade tree commission.

Council members emphasize that discussion over the various components of the plan, which was presented last week by members of the Ridgewood Environmental Advisory Committee (REAC), will continue during future meetings.

REAC has stressed the need for a new tree ordinance for several years and has been drafting the policy, which features elements borrowed from the Township of Hanover’s code, for the greater portion of 2012. That need was highlighted in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, which uprooted hundreds of trees and caused widespread property damage.

To reduce damage during future storms, REAC is proposing an ordinance that will end tree-planting in the public right of way. Felled trees that were located in the area between the curb and sidewalk caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to public and private property, said Councilwoman Bernadette Walsh.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/183822911_New_tree_policy_is_taking_shape_in_Ridgewood.html

 

Obama, Boehner move closer to ‘cliff’ deal : More debt more taxes 
By Lori Montgomery and Paul Kane, Published: December 17

President Obama and House Speaker John A. Boehner moved close to agreement Monday on a plan to avert the year-end “fiscal cliff,” but they had yet to clear several critical hurdles, including winning the support of wary House Republicans.

Obama and Boehner (R-Ohio) huddled at the White House for 45 minutes Monday morning for their third conversation in the past five days. Later, Boehner met for an hour at the Capitol with his leadership team in advance of a briefing Tuesday morning for the entire House GOP that could be a crucial test of Boehner’s ability to sell the deal.

Behind the scenes, administration officials and senior Republican aides continued to make progress. Obama laid out a counteroffer that included significant concessions on taxes, reducing the amount of new revenue he is seeking to $1.2 trillion over the next decade and limiting the hike in tax rates to households earning more than $400,000 a year. Obama had previously sought $1.4 trillion in new revenue, with tax increases on income over $250,000.

Obama also gave ground on a key Republican demand — applying a less-generous measure of inflation across the federal government. That change would save about $225 billion over the next decade, with more than half the savings coming from smaller cost-of-living increases for Social Security beneficiaries.

In addition, Obama increased his overall offer on spending cuts and dropped his demand for extending the payroll tax holiday, which has benefited virtually every worker for the past two years. But he is still seeking $80 billion in new spending on infrastructure and unemployment benefits and an increase in the federal government’s borrowing limit large enough to avert any new fight over the issue for two years.

Boehner has offered a one-year debt-limit increase, and the fresh stimulus spending remains a sticking point, according to senior Republican aides, who also complained that the overall deal remains too tilted toward new taxes.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-boehner-meet-as-debt-talks-intensify/2012/12/17/6b43c24a-4868-11e2-b6f0-e851e741d196_print.html

 

FLAGS TO FLY AT HALF-STAFF TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18

FLAGS TO FLY AT HALF-STAFF TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18: As per Executive Order No. 119 from Governor Chris Christie, all flags are to flown at half-staff on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 in recognition and mourning of the passing of the victims in Newtown, CT.

Christie looks ready for primetime; but is it ready for him

If Governor Christie had a choice, he would have spent the entirety of last week’s appearance on “The Daily Show” sharing intimate details of his recent “man hug” blessing from his idol, Bruce Springsteen.

(Charles Stile; the Record)

https://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/183676191_Stile__Christie_looks_ready_for_prime_time__but_is_it_ready_for_him__for_prime_time__but_is_it_ready_for_him_.html

ArtChick Photography

Shore businesses heartbeat of economy

SEA BRIGHT – Gov. Chris Christie said today a survey has been created for businesses to provide feedback on how they could get their businesses up and running as soon as possible after Sandy
(Minhaj Hassan; PolitickerNJ.com)

https://www.politickernj.com/wire

Menendez’s set to gain from Rice loss

When US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice withdrew her name from consideration as the next Secretary of State, she turned Washington, D.C.’s attention to U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.).

The chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is widely reported to be the most likely next choice to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

https://www.politickernj.com/back_room/rices-loss-could-be-menendezs-gain

Assembly gets to work for a change : Bills to cut red tape before Assembly

Assembly taking up bills to end a fine, speed up permits and create jobs.

Lawmakers are pushing forward with their agenda to reduce businesses’ time and expense in dealing with government.

Two bills up for a full vote in the Assembly today would scrap fines for clerical errors made by applicants on state forms and would put all public notices of rule changes and meetings online. Another proposal would require each state agency to review and possibly change the way it issues permits to speed up the process

(Juliet Fletcher; The Record)

https://www.northjersey.com/news/183740671_Bills_to_cut_red_tape_for_business_slated_for_votes_in_Trenton.html