After all the bickering, Congress finally approved an economic stimulus. So what’s it all mean?

The package that finally passed wasn’t all that different from the original proposal: Some spending was cut, some taxes were lowered, but the main ideas carried through.

Here’s a quick and dirty analysis of the final legislation, focusing on aspects of the law that will affect your company — and those who work for it:

Taxes

• Single filers will get a tax credit of $400, couples get $800, with the credit phasing out for single filers with incomes over $75,000 and couples making more than $150,000.
• State and local sales taxes paid on cars, SUVs and light trucks are exempt from federal taxes.
• Temporary exemption from income taxes for certain unemployment benefits.
• The Alternative Minimum Tax is patched, exempting an estimated 24 million people from having to pay AMT.
• The Earned Income Tax Credit is expanded for families with three or more children, and is restructured to provide relief for the so-called marriage penalty.
• Low income families now qualify for the child tax credit starting once they have income above $3,000.

Workers and unemployment

• Extends through December 2009 a program that gives up to 33 weeks of unemployment benefits.
• Increases weekly unemployment benefits by $25.
• Provides a federal subsidy of 60% to continue workers’ COBRA coverage for up to nine months.
• Provides for $4 billion in job training, as well as another $3.5 billion to provide short-term rental assistance and to buy and fix vacant properties.

In addition, the law calls for increased spending on health care, education, infrastructure, energy and technology that should have long-term benefits for businesses by providing improved efficiency, cleaner energy and better trained workers.

What’s next

Some of the changes to the tax code will take a little time to hammer out the details. For example, the $400 per worker credit will most likely be handled through changing withholding rates. We’ll keep you posted as news comes out.

Tags: A/P, Communication, Economic outlook, Employment tax, Hiring & training staff, IRS, New legislation, Payroll, Resource, Tax compliance