Here is a summary of a tax article (24 pages long - the
article not the summary!) I received to
keep you up on what is or could happen if Congress fails to act by the end of
2012. This will effect EVERYBODY so it is vital that you at least be informed.
I tried to spell it out as best I could and simple to understand language. Not
Dave's crew language of "me tax up, pay down" but a few steps up from
there. Pay close attention to the last few weeks of the year, as any action or
lack of will affect all of us deeply.
Economists say that if the package of tax increases and
spending cuts known as the "fiscal cliff" takes effect on Jan. 1 the
economy will likely sink into a recession.
Everyone who pays income tax — and some who don't —will feel
it. So will doctors who accept Medicare, people who get unemployment aid,
defense contractors, air traffic controllers, national park rangers and
companies that do research and development. The package of tax increases and
spending cuts known as the "fiscal cliff" takes effect in January
unless Congress passes a budget deal by then. The economy would be hit so hard
that it would likely sink into recession in the first half of 2013, economists
say. And no matter who you are, it will be all but impossible to avoid the pain.
Middle income families would have to pay an average of about
$2,000 more next year. Up to 3.4 million jobs would be lost, the unemployment
rate would reach 9.1 percent from the current 7.9 percent. Stocks could plunge.
The nonpartisan estimate a total cost of the cliff in 2013 at $671 billion.
Collectively, the tax increases would be the steepest to hit Americans in 60
years when measured as a percentage of the economy. Most of the damage —
roughly two-thirds — would come from the tax increases. But the spending cuts
would cause pain, too.
The bleak scenario could push the White House and Congress
to reach a deal before year's end. On Tuesday, Congress returns for a
post-election session that could last through Dec. 31. At a minimum, analysts
say some temporary compromise might be reached, allowing a final deal to be cut
early next year.
Still, uncertainty about a final deal could cause many
companies to further delay hiring and spend less.
Already, many U.S. companies
say anxiety about the fiscal cliff has led them to put off plans to expand or
hire. A breakdown in negotiations could also ignite turmoil in financial
markets. It could resemble the 700-point fall in the Dow Jones industrial
average in 2008 after the House initially rejected the $700 billion bailout of
major banks. Since President Barack Obama's re-election, nervous investors have
sold stocks. The Standard & Poor's 500 index sank 2.3 percent last week,
its worst weekly drop since June. The sell-off resulted in part from anxiety
over higher tax rates on investment gains once the fiscal cliff kicks in.
Last week, Obama said he was open to compromise with
Republican leaders. But the White House said he would veto any bill that would
extend tax cuts on income above $250,000. Republican House Speaker John Boehner
countered that higher tax rates on upper-income Americans would slow job
growth. Boehner argued that any deal must reduce tax rates, eliminate
special-interest loopholes and rein in government benefits. More than 50 percent of the tax increases
would come from the expiration of tax cuts approved in 2001 and 2003 and from
additional tax cuts in a 2009 economic stimulus law.
The first set of tax cuts reduced rates on income,
investment gains, dividends and estates. They also boosted tax credits for
families with children. Deductions for married couples also rose. The 2009
measure increased tax credits for low-income earners and college students.
About 20 percent of the tax increase would come from the expiration of a Social
Security tax cut enacted in 2010. This change would cost someone making $50,000
about $1,000 a year, or nearly $20 a week, and a household with two high-paid
workers up to $4,500, or nearly $87 a week. The end of the Social Security tax
cut isn't technically among the changes triggered by the fiscal cliff. But
because it expires at the same time, it's included in most calculations of the
fiscal cliff's effects. And it could catch many people by surprise. Every
worker in America is going to see a reduction in their paycheck in the first
pay period of 2013.
An additional 20 percent of the tax increase would come from
the end of about 80 tax breaks, mostly for businesses. One is a tax credit for
research and development. Another lets companies deduct from their income half
the cost of large equipment or machinery. Many mid-size companies are holding
off on equipment purchases or hiring until the fate of those tax breaks becomes
clear. The research and development credit typically lets a company that hired
an engineer at a $100,000 salary cut its tax bill by $10,000. The credit has
been routinely extended since the 1980s.
The rest of the tax increase would come mainly from the
alternative minimum tax, or AMT. It would hit 30 million Americans, up from 4
million now. The costly AMT was designed to prevent rich people from exploiting
loopholes and deductions to avoid any income tax. But the AMT wasn't indexed
for inflation, so it's increasingly threatened middle-income taxpayers.
Congress has acted each year to prevent the AMT from hitting many more people.
Under the fiscal cliff, households in the lowest 20 percent of earners would
pay an average of $412 more. The top 20 percent would pay an average $14,000
more, the top 1 percent $121,000 more. All this would lead many consumers to spend
less. Anticipating reduced sales and profits, businesses would likely cut jobs.
Others would delay hiring.
Another part of the cliff is a package of across-the-board
spending cuts to defense and domestic programs — cuts would total about $85
billion. Congress and the Obama administration agreed last year that these cuts
would kick in if a congressional panel couldn't agree on a deficit-reduction
plan. The magnitude of the cuts was intended to force agreement. It didn't.
Defense spending would shrink 10 percent, causing temporary job losses among
civilian Pentagon employees and major defense contractors. Spending on weapons
programs would be cut. For domestic programs, like highway funding, aid to
state and local governments and health research, spending would drop about 8
percent. Education grants to states and localities; the FBI and other law
enforcement; environmental protection; and air traffic controllers, among
others, would also be affected, the White House says. Hospitals and doctors'
offices could also cut jobs if an $11 billion cut in Medicare payments isn't
reversed.
Extended unemployment benefits for about 2 million people
would end. The extra benefits provide up to 73 weeks of aid.
