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2012 Players Guide
FactCheck Mailbag
FactCheck Mailbag, Week of Jan. 24-30.
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Viral Spiral
Tag Archives: chain e-mail
1% Transaction Tax
Q: Is "Obama’s finance team" recommending a 1 percent tax on all bank transactions, as a chain e-mail claims? A: No. This idea was first floated in 2004 by one House member, who says it would replace the federal income tax and eliminate the national debt. So far it has …
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2011 Tax Increases
Q: Will "the largest tax hikes in the history of America" take effect next year? Will ordinary taxpayers see taxes "skyrocket"? A: That’s not likely. A scary e-mail lists "Tax hikes in 2011" that probably won’t take effect, or won’t apply to families making under $250,000 a year. One "tax …
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Hoover, Truman & Ike: Mass Deporters?
Q: Did Eisenhower deport 13 million illegal immigrants? Did Hoover and Truman use mass deportations to open jobs for U.S. citizens? A: No. Nothing close to 13 million persons were deported during any administration. All three of these presidents wrestled with a rising tide of illegal immigration, but a long-running …
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Posted in Ask FactCheck
Tagged Add new tag, chain e-mail, Dwight Eisenhower, Harry Truman, Herbert Hoover, illegal immigrants, immigration, jobs
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Guns Found South of the Border
Q: Did border patrol recently discover a large cache of guns on the Arizona border? A: No. A chain e-mail making that claim shows pictures of a seizure by the Mexican Army about 70 miles south of the Texas border.
Posted in Ask FactCheck
Tagged arizona, border, chain e-mail, Guns, illegal immigrants, mexican
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Health Care Law and W-2 Forms
Q: Does the new health care law require workers to pay income tax on the value of employer-provided health insurance? A: No. The value will appear on employees’ W-2 forms for information purposes, but will not be considered taxable income.
Posted in Ask FactCheck
Tagged chain e-mail, employer-provided health insurance, health care reform, kiplinger, tax
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Another Zero Pay Increase for Congress
Contrary to persistent Internet rumors — which we debunked in "Zero Pay Raise for Congress, Too" on Sept. 25, 2009, and again in "Retribution Fabrication" on Jan. 8 — there was no pay raise for members of Congress this year. Congress voted over a year ago to deny itself the …
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Retrofit, Energy License Not Required
The House of Representatives passed H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act in June 2009. A chain e-mail that has been forwarded to us repeatedly in recent days says that the bill would require homeowners to retrofit their houses to meet new energy standards, and obtain a license …
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Posted in The FactCheck Wire
Tagged cap-and-trade, chain e-mail, energy, energy audit, license, retrofit
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A 3.8 Percent “Sales Tax” on Your Home?
Q: Does the new health care law impose a 3.8 percent tax on profits from selling your home? A: No, with very few exceptions. The first $250,000 in profit from the sale of a personal residence won’t be taxed, or the first $500,000 in the case of a married couple. …
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Posted in Ask FactCheck
Tagged 3.8% tax, chain e-mail, health care, health care reform, investment income, taxes
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