Relief comes to the unemployed and to homebuyers
Unemployed workers facing the loss of their benefits have a little less to worry about. On Thursday, a bill passed by lawmakers in the House of Representatives allowed for an extension of those benefits. The legislation also expands an $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit and gives business owners affected by the economic downturn a tax credit.
The measure passed the House by an overwhelming margin -- 403-12 -- and now goes to President Barack Obama to sign, which he has said he would do as early as Friday. The Senate passed the bill 98-0 on Wednesday. It extends a lifeline to jobless Americans who would otherwise see unemployment benefits disappear starting next month.
The nation's unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent last month and the number is expected to edge higher when the Labor Department reports fresh data from October on Friday. Nationwide, the bill provides a 14-week extension, but allows for as many as 20 additional weeks of unemployment benefits for residents in 26 states hardest hit by the recession, where jobless rates top 8.5 percent. Under the new legislation, workers could qualify for up to 99 weeks of assistance.
The home-buyer tax credit will be expanded to include those with higher incomes than under than plan's current iteration, which allows individuals to earn up to $75,000 to claim up to a $4,000 credit, and couples to earn up to $125,000 to get up to an $8,000 credit. The new legislation allows for singles who make up to $125,000 and couples to earn up to $225,000.
The bill also allows current homeowners who have been in their homes for five years to claim a credit of up to $6,500 if they purchase a new home as their primary residence. Homes priced higher than $800,000 are ineligible.
The beefed-up home-buyer tax credit was praised by the National Association of Realtors, an industry trade group. In a podcast, President Charles McMillan called the legislation a "major victory for consumers, realtors and the housing market." The group, which holds its annual convention next week in San Diego, lobbied hard for the program's extension, which has been credited for boosting homes sales during the summer and reducing the inventory of unsold homes.
In recent weeks, wannabe home buyers have hurried into the market hoping to secure a deal before the current programs Nov. 30 expiration date. The new bill extends the deadline to April 30.
Another provision of the bill will allow businesses to apply losses incurred last year or expect to incur this year to previous years' income, allowing them to qualify for tax credits up to $33 billion. Language in the $787 billion economic stimulus package that President Obama signed into law in February created the tax credit, but restricted it to small businesses.
In addition, the bill allows smaller investors who lost money in the Bernard Madoff scandal to claim losses against taxes paid on previous years' income.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
11-05-2009 @ 5:36PM
mike said...
Does this bill affect the people who have recently expired their benefits and have been waiting for this extension to get passed?
Reply
11-07-2009 @ 3:02PM
Karen said...
Hi Mike,
As far as I have been told by our local Mass Unemployment offices and by Senator Kerry's office; YES, those of us whose benefits have just expired, as mine did on Sept 27th, will receive the extension.
Actually the House passed this bill before many peoples' benefits had expires and then it sat in the Senate held up by many Republicans. That is what I have been told. Nice that all our legislatures have money, a house and food on their table. Just once, for two months, I dare them to trade places with any of us. We have their income and our bills and they have our unemployment and their bills. Let's see how they make out.
11-05-2009 @ 11:08PM
Barbara said...
If you were out here looking for a job that is not out there you wouldn't be complaining about your little business. Be glad you have it. There is not one job available that most of us are qualified for. Trying to go back to school and learn a new trade cost's out the butt. If you are 55 and older trying to get a job forget it they think you are 90. So don't knock the extended benefits for the laid off after all we did work for it and deserve it. It's not our faults we are not working. Remember there are 15 million people out of work and only 3 million available jobs. Happy Thanksgiving
11-06-2009 @ 1:23AM
chrissy said...
it does. thats what my dlt said.
11-06-2009 @ 5:28AM
Scot said...
Who Knows? each case or claim is done on individual of that claim!!Please check with your state filling agency for U.C. Good Hunting to You!!!
11-05-2009 @ 5:55PM
Robert said...
None of this helps me one bit. I have a 1 person business and have barely had any new work in over a year. The government has no protections for people like me, none.
When I am busy I hire other workers, I am part of the economic engine but have been cast aside.
Reply
11-05-2009 @ 7:49PM
Al yer pal said...
Robert.. I am with you 100%! It's been poverty for over a year and we don't get a single cent of relief. But hey.. self-employed people are automatically rich just because we own our own business! Didn't you know that?? It doesn't matter that the clients we may, by some fluke, still retain haven't paid ther bill for months and months.. we are rich! It doesn't matter that our overhhead bills keep coming in and growing.. we are rich! It doesn't matter that our self-emplyoment taxes are more than double a wage earner's.. we are rich!!
The only thing I am enjoying out of this is watching wage earners who become unemployed thinking that, even though they have never owned as much a lemonade stand, will just jump right on our bandwagon and become rich too! The biggest laugh is watching them spend and entire week desiging a business card, buying office supplies and sucking up those oh-so-popular "deductable business lunches". I mean, that's all you need to be to be rich like us, right?? No, wait.. I take that back.. that's only the second biggest laugh. The biggest laugh is watching them actually enjoy spending 50x too much money on building a business that will never fly and puffing their chest out the whole time saying "Well, that's just the cost of doing business!" No wait.. that's the third biggest laugh. The biggest laugh is when they finally sit down at their new mahogany desk with all their pencils lined up and stare at a silent phone. No wait.. that's the fourth biggest laugh. The biggest laugh comes when you see them totally stress out when only 60 days into it they are, like, 2,000% in the hole and they come crying to those of us who have been in business for 30 years for advice saying "I did everything right, but it's not working", and blaming it on anything and everything but their own stupid, arrogant selves.
So see??? At least we can get some entertainment value out of it!
Robert.. I sincerely wish you the very best of luck in the future. Okay, now it's your turn.. you say the same thing back to me. Then, after that, go ahead and deal the next hand while I put on another pot of coffee and we try to figure this whole mess out.
11-05-2009 @ 8:45PM
dajt57 said...
me too. i keep hearing about all this help and nothing there is for the single owner/operator businesses.
11-05-2009 @ 8:45PM
Bob said...
My wish is for good things to come your way. I am sorry all the greed on Wall Street and the banks has beat all of us up. Hopefully, we can pass some laws, and rules that will never allow this to happen again.
11-05-2009 @ 9:46PM
Kurt said...
When I decided to go for it on my own, I took 25% of my then employers customers with me and within a year 25% more had tracked me down and became my customers. I liked the guy I worked for but I was the one doing most of the work so I really didn't care that much when he tracked me down at a job site and threatened to sue me. I just pointed out to him that they looked me up and I did not pursue them and he had no legal ground to come after me. We are now friends again but you gotta do whatever it takes to launch a succesfull business and there are really no rules when two new businesses fail to every one that survives at least five years. I believe the best business attribute a person can have is if you tell a customer you are going to do something you do it and do your best to do it in a timely manner.
11-05-2009 @ 10:40PM
John said...
Get a real and job and pay taxes
11-06-2009 @ 2:54PM
Al yer pal said...
John said--> "Get a real and job and pay taxes"
Oh, my.. lookie here! It's one of those poeple I was mentioning above.. you know, the kind who has never even owned a simple lemonade stand, yet thinks they actually know something about business. LMAO at him!!
Hey, John.. when was the last time you and your "real" job paid city license taxes?? When is the last time you and your "real" job paid county proprietor taxes. When is the last time you and your "real" job paid state establishment taxes?? When was the last time you and your "real" job paid federal self-employment tax?? When is the last time you and your "real" job paid application taxes?? When is the last time you and your "real" job paid equalization taxes?? When is the last time you and your "real" job paid import taxes?? When is the last time you and your "real" job paid employer contribution taxes??... and so on and so on and so on. WE pay ALL of those taxes. Then, and only then, we get to pay our income taxes (which I am guessing is the only tax form you'll ever fill out).
Poor John.. just another clueless soul wandering the streets of Keyboardland.
11-05-2009 @ 5:59PM
MyKisa said...
....with Fair Tax, you would not have to wait for the government man to throw you a few tid bits of your own money
Reply
11-05-2009 @ 7:05PM
ron said...
only 1 kind of relief needed it's called JOBS not more welfare plain and simple JOBS Mr obama this may surprise u but most American would prefer to wake up each day and have a JOB.... but each day more and more people wake up to find out they no longer have a JOB....
Reply
11-05-2009 @ 7:33PM
Sheila said...
Open your own business and then you won't have to wait for the government or anyone else to fix the mess that Bush and other former presidents set us up for.
11-05-2009 @ 7:24PM
chicobombico said...
President Obama and Congress are certaily doing their part to help the unemployed and first time home buyer. Now the big question is when will American Business stop sitting on their hands and do their part. so far they have used the economy as an excuse to lay off workers just to increase profits. Insurance companies, banks, credit card companies and wall street continue to give bonuses, this money should be used to create jobs and not bonuses for the already employed people.
Reply
11-05-2009 @ 8:39PM
300M said...
One thing you forgot in your post. Our fine President said that because of the economy that Federal pay raises would be limited to only 2% increases. Being an early retiree because I lost my job, I would take that 2% raise on My Social Security check . But this year I, like others get zero,zilch,nada. Thanks Washington maybe I will move back to Canada of BFE and be better served than In the good old US of A.
11-05-2009 @ 11:22PM
Karl said...
This person obviously has never ran a business or handled a payroll and they have not right to say business's are laying off people just to have greater profits, it is because the have no profits from lack of sales. You need to inform yourself of the facts before you open your mouth. Try paying quarterly business taxes to the I R S every three months,plus
paying out workerers compesation insurance premiums Quarterly. You are obviiously on Obama's welfare train.
11-05-2009 @ 7:28PM
ChicoBombico said...
Robert I understand what you are saying please realize you have many advantages as a small business owner that the employees do not have, I imagine you use tham ??
Reply
11-06-2009 @ 3:01PM
Al yer pal said...
Chico.. uh.. could you please define these "many advantages"?? Go ahead, I'll wait (and wait, and wait, and wait and wait).