Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Taxes Too High? Associated Press Says: Federal taxes Lowest Since 1950

Taxes too high?

Actually, as a share of the nation's economy, Uncle Sam's take this year will be the lowest since 1950, when the Korean War was just getting under way.

And for the third straight year, American families and businesses will pay less in federal taxes than they did under former President George W. Bush, thanks to a weak economy and a growing number of tax breaks for the wealthy and poor alike.

Income tax payments this year will be nearly 13 percent lower than they were in 2008, the last full year of the Bush presidency. Corporate taxes will be lower by a third, according to projections by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

The poor economy is largely to blame, with corporate profits down and unemployment up. But so is a tax code that grows each year with new deductions, credits and exemptions. The result is that families making as much as $50,000 can avoid paying federal income taxes, if they have at least two dependent children. Low-income families can actually make a profit from the income tax, and the wealthy can significantly cut their payments...

custom.yahoo.com/taxes/article-112061-0c8961e7-144f-45ba-920f-8df98fd4d028-by-one-measure-federal-taxes-lowest-since-1950

Kids Count: More Michigan Children In or Near Poverty

First the bad news: An annual report released today says more children in Michigan live in or near poverty at a time when many support services for kids face budget cuts.

In addition, the state saw a 25 percent jump in confirmed victims of abuse and neglect between 2000 and 2009 - most due to neglect made worse by poverty.

The Kids Count in Michigan Project found that about one in every five children in Michigan live in poverty. The rate is nearly one out of every two black kids, and more than one out of three Hispanic children.

www.mlive.com/health/index.ssf/2011/02/report_child_poverty_neglect_r.html