Checking on White House fiscal cliff details

I had a simple question asked by a listener in recent days - what are the details of the fiscal cliff plans?  Your simple answer - we know some of the basics, but we don't know most of the details of what is being proposed by each side, though there are a lot of clues.

So far there has mainly been a lot of finger pointing between the two parties on the tax and budget impasse known as the fiscal cliff, but we haven't really seen either side release much in the way of details on what has actually been put on the negotiating table.

Let's start on this journey by taking a look at what the Obama Administration might do.

"I'm glad you asked," said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney to reporters last week when pressed about details, as he held for reporters the "President's Plan for Economic Growth and Deficit Reduction" that was submitted in September of 2011.

That report can be found on the White House web site here.

As I wrote back when that plan was submitted to the "Super Committee," it was sure to create a bit of controversy when people dug into the details.

So - knowing that most of you won't read through the whole White House document, which may or may not see parts of it included in the fine print of their fiscal cliff offer, I thought I would list many of the areas from this 2011 plan where new taxes, revenues and savings are proposed by the President.

The main part of the Obama plan that most readers are familiar with - which received a big thumbs down from Republicans last week - is allowing taxes to go up on individuals making over $200,000 in income each year, and couples filing jointly at $250,000.

That plan also raises capital gains, dividend, estate and other taxes.

Here are some of the revenue and budget saving details from the fine print that Jay Carney told reporters to look at:

Tax Reform Provisions:

• Allow Bush tax cuts to expire for wealthy and return estate tax to 2009 levels ($866 billion)
• Limit deductions for high income earners ($410 billion)
• Change tax treatment for hedge fund income ($12.5 billion)
• End special depreciation for corporate jets ($4.65 billion)
• Repeal oil and natural gas percentage depletion ($10.4 billion)
• Repeal oil and natural gas domestic deduction ($16.4 billion)
• Repeal expensing of intangible drilling costs ($12.8 billion)
• Repeal deduction for tertiary injectants ($83 million)
• Repeal oil and gas exception on passive loss ($187 million)
• Increase amortization for independent producers ($1.5 billion)
• Modify rules for dual capacity taxpayers ($9.9 billion)

Close Business Tax Loopholes:

• Repeal LIFO method of inventory accounting ($51.8 billion)
• Repeal LCM inventory accounting method ($8.2 billion)
• Repeal coal industry exploration expensing ($411 million)
• Repeal coal percentage depletion ($1.1 billion)
• Repeal capital gains treatment for royalties ($353 million)
• Repeal coal industry domestic deduction ($389 million)
• Modify rules on sales of life insurance ($929 million)
• Modify "Dividend-received-deduction" ($5.48 billion)
• Expand life insurance interest expense disallowance ($5.6 billion)

Changes in U.S. International Tax System

• Defer deduction of interest on deferred income ($35.6 billion)
• Determine foreign tax credit on pooling basis ($52.8 billion)
• Tax changes dealing with offshore intangibles ($19.1 billion)
• Limit income shifting through property transfers ($1.2 billion)
• Limit earnings stripping by expatriated entities ($3.9 billion)

General Revenue Provisions:

• Increase pension contributions by federal workers ($20.7 billion)
• Increase pharmacy co-pays for military health care ($15.1 billion)
• Start an annual premium fee for TRICARE signup ($6.7 billion)
• Increase fees charged by Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac ($27.5 billion)
• Increase airline ticket fees for airport security ($15 billion)
• New fee to pay for Air Traffic Control system ($10.9 billion)
• Various Postal Service reforms ($18.5 billion)
• New safeguards for worker retirement benefits ($16 billion)
• Reform the National Flood Insurance Program ($4.1 billion)
• National Wireless Initiative ($7 billion)
• Dispose of unneeded government property ($4.1 billion)
• Improve pension information collection ($3.1 billion)
• Strengthen IRS tax enforcement ($3.2 billion)
• Strengthen Treasury debt collection ($911 million)
• Reform Abandoned Mine Lands programs ($1.2 billion)
• Provisions on Unemployment Insurance system ($32.9 billion)
• Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee ($30 billion)
• New pesticide registration fees ($816 million)
• Charge for use of hazardous waste e-system ($31 million)
• Special assessment on nuclear power utilities ($2.1 billion)
• Repeal oil and gas R&D program ($150 million)
• Savings at Department of Interior ($1.6 billion)
• Raise diesel fuel tax for boats ($1.1 billion)

Health Savings:

• Reduce Medicare coverage of patients' bad debts ($20 billion)
• Changes in Medical Education payments ($9.1 billion)
• End extra payments to rural providers ($2.1 billion)
• Reduce Critical Access Hospital payments ($1 billion)
• Change rules on Critical Access designation ($3 billion)
• Adjust payments for some post-acute care ($32.5 billion)
• Equalize certainly Medicare payments ($4.5 billion)
• Encourage better use of inpatient rehab ($2.6 billion)
• Adjust skilled nursing facility payments ($2 billion)
• Match Medicare & Medicaid drug payment policies ($135 billion)
• Recover wrongful Medicare payments ($2.3 billion)
• Reduce Medicare waste, fraud & abuse ($500 million)
• Penalties for failure to use e-health records ($500 million)
• Medicare payments dealing with advanced imaging ($400 million)
• Require prior okay for advanced imaging ($900 million)
• Medicare "Interactions" ($7 billion)
• Increase "income-related premiums" for Parts B & D ($20 billion)
• Modify Part B deductible for new enrollees ($1 billion)
• New Medicare 'home health copayments' ($400 million)
• Part B premium surcharge for some beneficiaries ($2.5 billion)
• Reduce the Medicaid provider tax threshold ($26.3 billion)
• Single blended matching rate to Medicaid & CHIP ($14.9 billion)
• Limit Medicaid reimbursement of durable medical equipment ($4.2 billion)
• Strengthen Medicaid third party liability ($1.3 billion)
• Alter Disproportionate Share Hospital allotments ($4.1 billion)
• Reduce waste, fraud and abuse in Medicaid ($110 million)
• Change income determination for benefits ($14.6 billion)
• Ban 'pay for delay' Rx agreements ($2.7 billion)
• Reduce exclusivity for generic biologics ($3.5 billion)
• Streamline FEHBP pharmacy benefit contracting ($1.6 billion)
• Prevention and Public Health Fund investments ($3.5 billion)
• Accelerate State Innovation Waivers ($4 billion)
• Cut administrative costs ($400 million)

Other changes:

• Reinstates Superfund taxes ($18.7 billion)
• Makes 0.2% unemployment insurance surtax permanent ($14.6 billion)
• Increase certainly on worker classification ($7.7 billion)