Will the bipartisan tax bill signed into law two weeks ago have an effect on the economy?

By PBN Staff

After weeks of discussion, negotiations, politics and voting, Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed the $858 billion extension of the Bush-era tax cuts.

Of course, the law contains more than the controversial cuts for high-income individuals and families. Among the key points:

• $57 billion worth of renewed jobless benefits

• A one-year cut on most workers’ Social Security payroll tax

• A short-term fix to the alternative minimum tax that will keep more than 20 million families from being hit by the tax this year and next

Will this tax law have an effect on the economy over the short term, and what kind of effect at that?