© Los Angeles Times 2009   As part of a bundle of budget patches adopted in the summer, the state is taking more money now in withholding, even though workers' annual tax bills won't change. The amount withheld goes up 10% on Sunday as Sacramento borrows from taxpayers. Technically, it's not an income tax increase: You'll get the money back eventually.Think of it as a forced, interest-free loan: You'll be repaid any extra withholding in April. Those who would receive a refund anyway will receive a larger one, and those who owe taxes will owe less. Read more. ...
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© Bloomberg.com 2009  The Federal Reserve restated its intention to keep interest rates “exceptionally low” for “an extended period” as long as inflation expectations are stable and unemployment fails to decline. Read more. ...
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© Arizona Republic 2009  Gov. Jan Brewer said she expects to call the Legislature back to work later this month to cut about one-third of the $1.75 billion budget deficit. But she said budget cuts alone will not do the job, and she pressed her argument for an immediate source of new revenue. Read more. ...
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© Los Angeles Times 2009      After weeks of negotiations, the state Senate started voting on a broad water package Monday night, passing three measures before adjourning shortly after midnight. A bond measure and a conservation target are OKd, but failure of other provisions could still doom the package. Assembly action is also necessary. Read more. ...
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© Foxsnews.com 2009  House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said that it was his intention to "have that bill on the floor later this week," and signaled that he would give Republicans a chance to offer their alternative health care reform bill as an amendment to the measure. Read more. ...
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© Washington Post 2009  The debate over whether to let states opt out of any government-run health insurance plan overlooks a key facet of the health-care measures being assembled in Congress: When Washington is done, the shape of any new health-care system is likely to be finalized in Lansing and Boise and Baton Rouge.    Besides the opt-out choice, proposed last week by Senate leaders, health-care legislation being drafted on Capitol Hill would delegate to state officials a multitude of momentous decisions, from what benefits are offered to low-income families to what hurdles to put in front of private insurance companies before they can raise premiums. More >>

Last week, the House and Senate passed legislation to extend the current loan limits for FHA and Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (the government sponsored enterprises, or GSEs) through December 31, 2010. These loan limits, set at 125% of local area median home price and capped at $729,750, would have expired on December 31, 2009 in which case loan limits would have been reduced in many markets. The extension is included in the Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government for the remainder of 2009. The CR is part of the Department of Interior FY2010 Appropriations bill. As of the deadline for filing this report, the President was expected to sign the bill into law over the weekend. ...
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© Washington Post 2009 The health package released Thursday by House leaders would increase federal spending on health care by nearly $600 billion over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, a dramatic increase that dwarfs the expansion envisioned by the latest Senate bill. Read more. ...
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© Arizona Republic 2009   An emergency rate increase and the hottest month ever in the state helped Arizona Public Service Co.'s parent company boost profits 23 percent from July to September, it reported Thursday.    APS still is trying to get a rate hike it applied for in early 2008 approved through the Arizona Corporation Commission, but was given part of the hike on an emergency basis in December. Read more. ...
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Senate leaders of both parties and key Senate Finance Committee members and staff, and tax credit sponsors Dodd-Lieberman-Isakson have agreed on extending and expanding the housing tax credit.  However, there is no agreement on how to attach this tax credit to the pending Unemployment Insurance bill, or whether to offer the tax credit agreement on another bill, or whether to bring the agreement to the Senate floor and vote upon it as a separate, stand alone bill.  And after Senate action, the tax credit must go to the House of Representatives for action.  REALTORS® should keep responding to our Call For Action by calling and writing their members of congress to support the ...
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