The return of the Pease Amendment, which limits the amount of itemized deductions a high-earner may take, has received little media attention because it is not as easy to explain or quantify as a change in tax rates.
Add to the new 39.6% rate a surreptitious tax increase ostensibly based on itemized deductions and then a health care surtax kicking in in 2013, and you get a tripling in the top rate on dividends to 44.6%.