The new tax law which went into effect on January 1st, which is actually a combination of provisions from two different tax bills – the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 – penalizes individuals with certain types and amounts of income. See parts 1 and 2 of The 2013 Tax Law Schizophrenic Definition of Income published on January 7th and January 14th for a discussion of the affected income types and threshold amounts, including a summary table of same.
As pointed out in the two posts, there are now five different definitions of income affecting seven different tax areas as a result of the new legislation. What I have found interesting as a CPA retirement income planner is the fact that while only two of the seven affected tax areas are directly related to investments, these two areas have commanded the vast majority of the media's attention to date.
