A look at tax breaks that expired this year

While much of Washington is consumed by the debate over tax cuts scheduled to expire next year, a big package of tax breaks already expired this year. Among the biggest, along with the cost to retroactively extend each one for 2012 and 2013:
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Individual tax breaks

— Relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax. The tax is designed to ensure that wealthy people can't use tax breaks to avoid paying any federal taxes. However, it was never indexed for inflation, so Congress routinely adjusts it to keep it from imposing hefty tax increases on millions of middle-income families. Cost: $132 billion.

— State and local sales tax deduction. Taxpayers can take this itemized deduction instead of deducting state and local income taxes. It is geared for people who live in states without state income taxes: Alaska, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Florida, South Dakota, Washington, Nevada, Texas and Wyoming. Cost: $4.4 billion.

— A deduction of up to $4,000 for qualified higher education expenses: Cost: $4.2 billion.

— A tax credit for improvements to make homes more energy efficient. Cost: $2.4 billion. Read more >>

U.S. drought: Half of all counties disaster areas

Nearly 220 counties in a dozen drought-stricken states were added Wednesday to the U.S. government's list of natural disaster areas as the nation's agriculture chief unveiled new help for frustrated, cash-strapped farmers and ranchers grappling with extreme dryness and heat.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's addition of the 218 counties means that more than half of all U.S. counties - 1,584 in 32 states - have been designated primary disaster areas this growing season, the vast majority of them mired in a drought that's considered the worst in decades.

Counties in Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wyoming were included in Wednesday's announcement. The USDA uses the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor to help decide which counties to deem disaster areas, which makes farmers and ranchers eligible for federal aid, including low-interest emergency loans. Read more >>

Senate Passes Iran Sanctions Bill

Key Petroleum Sector facilities Iran 

The U.S. Senate unanimously voted to tighten sanctions on Iran on Monday, three days after a dispute over whether to include the threat of American force stalled the legislation.

The new sanctions would target Iran's oil and banking industries, as well as other sectors. The measure passed the Senate on a voice vote Monday evening, two days before a new round of talks between Iran and leading U.N. members in Baghdad. "Today the Senate has showed we can still act in a bipartisan way on important priorities," said Sen. Tim Johnson, D-South Dakota, the chairman of the Senate banking committee.

Passage came after senators agreed to add language warning that military force would be an option available to the United States if Iran seeks to build a nuclear weapon. But the measure also states that nothing in the legislation authorizes military action. More...

Unemployment Rate Increased in 43 States in December

CalculatedRisk

From the BLS: Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally higher in December. Forty-three states and the District of Columbia recorded over-the-month unemployment rate increases, four states registered rate decreases, and three states had no rate change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the year, jobless rates increased in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
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Michigan again recorded the highest unemployment rate among the states, 14.6 percent in December. The states with the next highest rates were Nevada, 13.0 percent; Rhode Island, 12.9 percent; and South Carolina, 12.6 percent. North Dakota continued to register the lowest jobless rate, 4.4 percent in December, followed by Nebraska and South Dakota, 4.7 percent each. The rate in South Carolina set a new series high, as did the rates in three other states: Delaware (9.0 percent), Florida (11.8 percent), and North Carolina (11.2 percent). The rate in the District of Columbia also set a new series high (12.1 percent).
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph shows the high and low unemployment rates for each state (and D.C.) since 1976. The red bar is the current unemployment rate (sorted by the current unemployment rate).

Sixteen states and D.C. now have double digit unemployment rates. Indiana, Missouri and Washington are all close.

Five states are at record unemployment rates: South Carolina, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and Delaware, and several other states are close.

Pre-approved Credit Card with APR of 79.9 Percent

Image by liewcf via Flickr

The offer is for a Premier card from First Premier Bank, which is based in South Dakota. On its Web site, First Premier says it is the country's 10th largest issuer of Visa and MasterCard credit cards. The site also says it "focuses on individuals who have less than perfect credit but are actually still creditworthy."

A spokesman with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said interest rate limits on bank cards are set by the individual state and not on a federal level. According to information on the South Dakota Legislative Web site, there is "no maximum or usury restriction." In other words, the individual bank can set its own interest rate limits. Read More...