September 10, 2019 -- 6 pm: NATIONAL DAY OF SERVICE EVENT - West Potsdam Fire Hall. This is a FREE open-to-the community event. Join the St. Lawrence County (SLC) Chapter #2831 of AARP, Inc. and St. Lawrence County Emergency Services who are partnering to HONOR those that protect SLC residents on a daily basis: Law Enforcement, Fire Departments, and Rescue Squads. RSVP is required to Karen at 315-265-6705 or [email protected] on or before Sept. 5th.
See more details in the flyer: Open here
0 Comments
From over at Forbes:
As Rumors Swirl, Here’s What A Payroll Tax Cut Might Look Like As concerns circulate about a potential recession, President Donald Trump insists that the economy remains healthy. Despite those assertions, there have been rumblings that White House officials are exploring the possibility of a temporary payroll tax cut to put more money in the hands of consumers. According to reports, economists inside the White House have drafted a white paper about the potential for a payroll tax cut. Earlier, a White House official released a statement saying that “more tax cuts for the American people are certainly on the table, but cutting payroll taxes is not something under consideration at this time.” However, President Trump confirmed to reporters that payroll tax cuts are on the table, along with those rumored potential changes to capital gains, saying, “I’ve been thinking about payroll taxes for a long time. Many people would like to see that.” If the back-and-forth sounds familiar, it echoes themes from an earlier time. The last payroll tax cut for American workers—also controversial—was pushed through by the Obama administration in 2011, despite concerns that the cut would increase the federal deficit. The theory was that the benefit would offset any costs: The cut was intended to kick-start the economy following the 2008 recession. After the first round, Congress renewed the temporary payroll tax cuts in 2012. Here’s how the payroll tax cuts worked. Wages and self-employment income are subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes. Together, Social Security and Medicare taxes are known as FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) taxes and are taken right out of your paycheck. Taxes on self-employment income are separately referred to as SECA (Self-Employment Contributions Act) taxes since self-employed persons pay both the employee and employer contributions. If you’re employed, you pay Social Security tax (6.2%) as the employee, and your employer also pays the same rate of tax (6.2%); again, if you’re self-employed, you pay both portions. Unlike Medicare, Social Security taxes are subject to a wage cap. In other words, you pay Social Security taxes on your earnings until you hit a magic number. After that, your wages are no longer subject to Social Security taxes. For 2019, that magic number is $132,900. That means that whether you make $1,000 or $100,000, you will pay Social Security taxes on that income. But if you earn $132,901? You'll pay Social Security taxes on $132,900, but not on the extra dollar. And if you earn $1,132,900? You'll pay Social Security taxes on $132,900 but not on the extra million. .....[H]ere’s how the 2011 payroll tax cut worked. On the employer side, payroll tax contributions for federal purposes remained the same. On the employee side, payroll tax contributions for federal purposes were reduced by 2%: Instead of paying in at 6.2% for Social Security taxes (up to the cap, which was, at the time, $106,800), contributions were 4.2% for Social Security taxes (still up to the cap). Self-employed persons also got a 2% reduction. Contributions for Medicare remained the same. A similar payroll tax cut in 2019 could save top wage earners up to $2,658. Read the full article over at Forbes. A bill that would cap out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare enrollees at $3,100 a year and save the program $100 billion over a decade passed by a 19-9 bipartisan vote Thursday in the Senate Finance Committee.The bill, the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019, would change the financing structure of Medicare Part D to permanently eliminate the coverage gap — or donut hole. It would also require pharmaceutical companies and insurance plans to pay the lion's share of the cost of prescriptions for patients whose annual drug bills are the highest. The measure would cap patients’ out-of-pocket costs in Part D by removing the 5 percent share of a drug's cost that a Medicare beneficiary currently pays when their annual prescription charges are high enough to be considered catastrophic. These changes would begin in 2022. A bill that would cap out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare enrollees at $3,100 a year and save the program $100 billion over a decade passed by a 19-9 bipartisan vote Thursday in the Senate Finance Committee. The bill, the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019, would change the financing structure of Medicare Part D to permanently eliminate the coverage gap — or donut hole. It would also require pharmaceutical companies and insurance plans to pay the lion's share of the cost of prescriptions for patients whose annual drug bills are the highest. The measure would cap patients’ out-of-pocket costs in Part D by removing the 5 percent share of a drug's cost that a Medicare beneficiary currently pays when their annual prescription charges are high enough to be considered catastrophic. These changes would begin in 2022. Full article here: Bipartisan Medicare Drug Bill / AARP.Org |
The St. Lawrence County Chapter (SLCC) #2831 is a community of advocacy and volunteers whose purpose is to 1) promote at the local level the priorities, programs and policies specific for the benefit of our seniors, 2) maximize member engagement in a broad menu of services, information and educational activities, 3) demonstrate the contributions and potential of people who are 50+ to encourage their full participation in contemporary life, 4) create fundraising opportunities to achieve self-sufficiency, and 5) stimulate public interest in a variety of issues.
Past Posts:
November 2019
|