Happy New Year all! I am glad that 2012 is over, not because it was bad, but because 2013 promises to be better than 2012. I'm an eternal optimist. I was actually READY to get back to work today, after being off for two weeks. I was well rested and ready to attack the day. 

As the HR Manager, I handle payroll - and like everyone else, of course I was aware of the Fiscal Cliff and its implications - because on NYE, it was on literally EVERY CHANNEL. Anyways, I distribute the pay stubs once I receive them from our payroll vendor, and after going through them, I saw a few errors, or so I thought. Everyone's check seemed smaller! 

GASP! That's when it clicked! The payroll deduction tax expired...so instead of the 4.2% we were paying since 2010, its back up to 6.2%. To some, that may not be a big deal...but if you are a single parent (like myself) or just struggling to make ends meet period, the loss of $600 - to someone making $30.000 a year is a BIG deal. 

Because of my finance background, I have been following this tax deduction, among others, since it was passed in 2010. I knew it would end soon, but I never imagined I would be the ones explaining to my employees that their take home will be lower. 

The good news? We are all still gainfully employed :)

xoxo,

Rabiah