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American Morning
Minding Your Business: Will Tax Cut Mean More Cash in Your Wallet?
Aired May 23, 2003 - 07:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: I know it's a lot of money, $330 billion in that tax cut plan from Congress and the White House. What does it mean, though, for you and your wallet, and your family for that matter?
Andy Serwer has been crunching the numbers, here to break it down.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: I am. Good morning to you, Bill.
What it means is you're probably going to be getting a check in the mail soon, and your withholding is going to go down. We want to talk about that a little bit.
The bill is winding its way through the Senate right now, expected to be signed by the president over the weekend. First thing: tax credit for kids. Very important here, the credit is going to go from 600 to 1,000. You're actually going to get a check, or a lot of Americans are, $400 per kid if you claimed in the 2002 return. OK? And it's going to get sent, and you should be getting it by mid- August, 25 million taxpayers qualify. So, you know, that's pretty tasty, right?
HEMMER: I would say. The question, though, is: Do people spend it or do they save it?
SERWER: Well, you know, it's interesting, because we're supposed to be doing good things for the economy. You go to Wal-Mart and spend it. But, of course, what you really should do first off is pay off those credit card bills and your debts first.
HEMMER: Your debts. That's right.
SERWER: And spend it somewhere besides Wal-Mart, too, you know? I mean, this is not a Wal-Mart endorsement, right? I mean, there are a lot of other companies out there.
HEMMER: Yes, it's not, but you're going there.
SERWER: Yes. No, I don't care about Wal-Mart, obviously.
HEMMER: Yes.
SERWER: OK, let's look at some of the tax brackets, though, because people are going to be saving some money. Here we go for single, no kids, you can see how, you know, 41,000, you'll make a couple of hundred bucks. Actually, the Brookings Institution says that 36 percent of Americans won't be getting any tax cuts at all and 50 percent will be getting $100 or less. Obviously lower-income people, unfortunately, are not going to be getting a big break. And the more money you make, yes, it is true, the more taxes get cut.
The next screen, though, let's check it out. If you have kids, married with two kids there, 1,200 for 41, $530,000 a year, what is that -- people make that where, on "Good Morning America" or some other TV shows -- $13,000 a year in savings, which is real money. But then, again, of course, you have to make it...
HEMMER: Yes, that's right.
SERWER: ... to get that kind of a tax cut.
HEMMER: Yes, that's on a percentage, too.
SERWER: Right.
HEMMER: Good deal, Andy. Thanks for breaking that down.
SERWER: OK.
HEMMER: Appreciate it. See you a bit later.
SERWER: OK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Wallet?>
Aired May 23, 2003 - 07:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: I know it's a lot of money, $330 billion in that tax cut plan from Congress and the White House. What does it mean, though, for you and your wallet, and your family for that matter?
Andy Serwer has been crunching the numbers, here to break it down.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: I am. Good morning to you, Bill.
What it means is you're probably going to be getting a check in the mail soon, and your withholding is going to go down. We want to talk about that a little bit.
The bill is winding its way through the Senate right now, expected to be signed by the president over the weekend. First thing: tax credit for kids. Very important here, the credit is going to go from 600 to 1,000. You're actually going to get a check, or a lot of Americans are, $400 per kid if you claimed in the 2002 return. OK? And it's going to get sent, and you should be getting it by mid- August, 25 million taxpayers qualify. So, you know, that's pretty tasty, right?
HEMMER: I would say. The question, though, is: Do people spend it or do they save it?
SERWER: Well, you know, it's interesting, because we're supposed to be doing good things for the economy. You go to Wal-Mart and spend it. But, of course, what you really should do first off is pay off those credit card bills and your debts first.
HEMMER: Your debts. That's right.
SERWER: And spend it somewhere besides Wal-Mart, too, you know? I mean, this is not a Wal-Mart endorsement, right? I mean, there are a lot of other companies out there.
HEMMER: Yes, it's not, but you're going there.
SERWER: Yes. No, I don't care about Wal-Mart, obviously.
HEMMER: Yes.
SERWER: OK, let's look at some of the tax brackets, though, because people are going to be saving some money. Here we go for single, no kids, you can see how, you know, 41,000, you'll make a couple of hundred bucks. Actually, the Brookings Institution says that 36 percent of Americans won't be getting any tax cuts at all and 50 percent will be getting $100 or less. Obviously lower-income people, unfortunately, are not going to be getting a big break. And the more money you make, yes, it is true, the more taxes get cut.
The next screen, though, let's check it out. If you have kids, married with two kids there, 1,200 for 41, $530,000 a year, what is that -- people make that where, on "Good Morning America" or some other TV shows -- $13,000 a year in savings, which is real money. But then, again, of course, you have to make it...
HEMMER: Yes, that's right.
SERWER: ... to get that kind of a tax cut.
HEMMER: Yes, that's on a percentage, too.
SERWER: Right.
HEMMER: Good deal, Andy. Thanks for breaking that down.
SERWER: OK.
HEMMER: Appreciate it. See you a bit later.
SERWER: OK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Wallet?>
