Readers rage about the rich and taxes

• How Americans want their tax dollars spent

  As lawmakers bicker over how to spend federal tax dollars, Americans have a few suggestions for them.

  According to a recent online survey of 1,000 consumers by TD Ameritrade (AMTD), people clearly want the government to focus even more on health care. Jobs are important as well. And there are some interesting differences between what men would like the government to spend more on and what women view as a priority MORE

  Tami Luhby - Feb 12, 2013 9:29 AM ET
  Posted in: cnnmoney, economy, education, healthcare, job creation, taxes, TD Ameritrade

• Your taxes under the fiscal cliff deal

  The fiscal cliff deal contains a wide array of tax provisions that will affect taxpayers. Here's the list of what is -- and isn't -- in the agreement:

  Payroll taxes: Wage earners will now pay a 6.2% payroll tax on the first $113,700 in wages since the deal did not extend the 4.2% rate that had been in place for two years. That means workers earning the national average salary of MORE

  Tami Luhby - Jan 2, 2013 1:00 PM ET
  Posted in: Bush Tax Cuts, cnnmoney, congress, economy, fiscal cliff, payroll tax, tax, taxes

• Fiscal cliff confusion on Form 1040

  There are some new lines on the Form 1040 thanks to the fiscal cliff. The IRS has had to set aside space for provisions that Congress hasn't approved yet, leaving those lines as "reserved."

  Are you a teacher who spent up to $250 on pencils, books or other classroom supplies? Well, you'll find Line 23 now says "reserved" instead of "educator expenses deduction."

  Are you a student looking to deduct up to MORE

  Tami Luhby - Dec 28, 2012 1:52 PM ET
  Posted in: congress, economy, fiscal cliff, form 1040, internal revenue service, IRS, refunds, tax filing, taxes

• California warily watches Facebook stock price

  Facebook investors and employees aren't the only ones carefully watching the company's stock price deflate.

  California, which was hoping to net up to $2 billion for its cash-strapped budget from Facebook's IPO, acknowledged this week that the company's stock price has "fallen far below" the $35 level assumed in the state's revenue projections.

  Facebook (FB) dipped below $20 for the first time on Thursday, a far cry from its $38 initial public MORE

  Tami Luhby - Aug 2, 2012 3:19 PM ET
  Posted in: budget, california, economy, facebook, IPO, revenue, stock price, taxes, zuckerberg

• Bill Clinton: Congress will punt on fiscal cliff

  Former President Bill Clinton said Tuesday that lawmakers will most likely put off making a set of crucial spending and tax decisions until 2013.

  "[Congress] will probably have to put everything off until early next year," Clinton said during an interview with CNBC. "That's probably the best thing to do right now."

  Clinton was referring to the so-called fiscal cliff -- a series of measures set to begin in January that would MORE

  Charles Riley - Jun 5, 2012 7:14 PM ET
  Posted in: austerity, barack obama, bill clinton, fiscal cliff, Mitt Romney, taxes

• How to avoid the looming budget train wreck

  Republicans desperately do not want to raise taxes on the über-rich. And Democrats certainly don't want to gut entitlement spending for the nation's most needy. But with the Bush tax cuts and Obama payroll tax cut set to expire at the end of the year, and automatic budget cuts tied to sequestration set to kick in at the beginning of next year, it's clear that Congress has to do something MORE

  Paul R. La Monica - Mar 22, 2012 9:17 AM ET
  Posted in: budget deficit, debt, economy, Election 2012, taxes

• States lower taxes for first time in a decade

  States lowered taxes by $2 billion last year -- the first such reduction in 10 years.

  But don't be fooled into thinking states were back in the black financially. Despite facing collective shortfalls exceeding $100 billion, strong anti-tax sentiment has led many states to slash tax levies.

  Taxes dropped after states allowed several temporary measures to expire, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.  These hikes had been enacted to boost MORE

  Tami Luhby - Mar 19, 2012 10:36 AM ET
  Posted in: Great Recession, National Conference of State Legislatures, NCSL, state legislatures, states, taxes

• When in France, tax the rich

  Raising taxes on the rich isn't just an election year issue in the United States -- it's also a big deal in France.

  Socialist presidential candidate Francois Hollande last week proposed a 75% tax rate on income above 1 million euros, a move that has sparked debate, with some arguing that raising taxes to that level would result in an exodus of French citizens to other European countries with more favorable MORE

  Charles Riley - Mar 5, 2012 3:54 PM ET
  Posted in: france, policy, President Obama, tax, taxes

• Income goes up...especially for the rich

  After two years of declines, Americans' income finally rose in 2010. The Internal Revenue Service provided a first peek at taxpayers' returns and it showed that adjusted gross income totaled $8 trillion, up 5.2% from 2009.

  But a closer look at the data reveals that only the wealthiest Americans will be popping the Cristal.

  Taxpayers earning more than $250,000 saw their total adjusted gross incomes rise by 13.8%, while those bringing home MORE

  Tami Luhby - Mar 5, 2012 12:09 PM ET
  Posted in: adjusted gross income, class warfare, income inequality, internal revenue service, IRS, middle class, rich, taxes, taxpayers, wealthy