White House touts tax-cut calculator

The White House has introduced a special calculator to promote taxpayers’ savings as a result of the bipartisan tax-cut deal President Obama made with lawmakers last year.

The administration posted on its blog the new calculator in anticipation of the approaching tax-filing deadline to highlight the savings it says households can expect this year.

{mosads}”The brand new Tax Cut Calculator provides an easy to use tool that shows individuals and families how these tax cuts — some of which are hitting paychecks right now — will affect their taxes for 2011,” wrote Adam Abrams, a White House regional communications director, on the official White House blog.

The tax-cut deal, brokered last year during the lame-duck Congress, extended for two years the tax cuts installed in 2001 under then-President George W. Bush. It also also offered a 2 percent cut in payroll taxes for 2011 and expanded or extended a number of other tax credits.

The deal also included a long-term extension of unemployment insurance benefits.

The calculator serves as a way for the administration to claim political credit for any tax relief, especially during budget season, when the president is locked in negotiations over spending with congressional Republicans.

“For families across the country, these tax benefits mean more money in their pockets and give them incentives to make energy saving home improvements, purchase a new vehicle or buy a home,” Abrams wrote. “That isn’t just good for working families — it’s also good for the economy overall.”