Monday, January 26, 2015

Democratic Pickpockets and Purse Snatchers

The American Spectator ^ | January 26, 2015 | Ross Kaminsky 

Like walking in a neighborhood full of pickpockets and purse snatchers, living under the Obama administration should leave all Americans worried about what will be pilfered from them next.

In one of the most hypocritical moves yet—and that’s saying something—by a man who exhaled a lot of hot air in recent weeks, including during the State of the Union speech, talking about the importance of a college education, President Obama is now proposing to end tax-free withdrawals from 529 college savings accounts, diminishing (or perhaps even eliminating)their attractiveness as savings vehicles and thereby reducing incentives for millions of American families to create a college nest egg for their children.
Contributions to 529 plans are not deductible for federal income tax purposes but are deductible in 34 states and the District of Columbia.(Since seven states have no state income tax, 529 plans receive favorable tax treatment in all but nine states.) The income earned within a 529 plan can be withdrawn tax free when used for “qualified higher education expenses.”
The most recent study of the 529 program by the College Savings Plan Network says that “total assets and total number of open accounts have reached new record levels of more than $244 billion and 11.8 million, respectively.” The number of 529 accounts grew by six percent in the first half of 2014 alone.
President Obama is one of those 11.8 million, having contributed a stunning $240,000 to his daughters’ 529 plans in 2007. Since the president’s proposal would impact new contributions rather than those already made, it would leave his daughters’ college savings in good shape; he had the financial wherewithal to drop a quarter million dollars into those accounts all at once. But for those of us (including me)who make modest monthly or annual contributions to our children’s futures, we’re out of luck.....
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...

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