Wednesday,  January 2, 2013 • Vol. 13--No. 167 • 18 of 24 •  Other Editions

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$200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for families.
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Despite deal avoiding fiscal cliff, taxes to increase for vast majority of American households

• WASHINGTON (AP) -- While the tax package that Congress passed New Year's Day will protect 99 percent of Americans from an income tax increase, most of them will still end up paying more federal taxes in 2013.
• That's because the legislation did nothing to prevent a temporary reduction in the Social Security payroll tax from expiring. In 2012, that 2-percentage-point cut in the payroll tax was worth about $1,000 to a worker making $50,000 a year.
• The Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan Washington research group, estimates that 77 percent of American households will face higher federal taxes in 2013 under the agreement negotiated between President Barack Obama and Senate Republicans. High-income families will feel the biggest tax increases, but many middle- and low-income families will pay higher taxes too.
• Households making between $40,000 and $50,000 will face an average tax increase of $579 in 2013, according to the Tax Policy Center's analysis. Households making between $50,000 and $75,000 will face an average tax increase of $822.
• "For most people, it's just the payroll tax," said Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center.
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Highlights of congressional legislation to avert 'fiscal cliff'

• Highlights of a bill Congress passed Tuesday aimed at averting wide tax increases and budget cuts scheduled to take effect with the new year. The measure would raise taxes by about $600 billion over 10 years compared with tax policies that were due to expire at midnight Monday. It would also delay for two months across-the-board cuts to the budgets of the Pentagon and numerous domestic agencies.
• The House and Senate passed the bill Tuesday and sent it to President Barack Obama for his signature.
• Highlights include:
• --Income tax rates: Extends decade-old tax cuts on incomes up to $400,000 for individuals, $450,000 for couples. Earnings above those amounts would be taxed at

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