The debate over expiring tax cuts enacted in the George W. Bush administration has been at a stalemate in Washington for some time, with many worried that no action will be taken before their expiration at the year. If that happens, nearly everyone in the country, including those making $50,000 or less, will see increases in their taxes.
If the tax cuts expire in their entirety, a family of four with a total annual income of $50,000 per year will have to pay $2,900 more in federal taxes in 2011. For a family making twice that, the increase rises to $4,500 additional tax payments per year.
Of course, the tax cuts also extend far above that, with large increases in taxes for families making $200,000, $500,000, or one million dollars per year; should the bill expire, virtually no one in the nation would be exempt from a larger tax bill in 2011.
The tax cuts were enacted in 2001 and 2003 during the Bush administration, and during the debate surrounding their passing then and their expiration now, much of the focus is on the taxes saved by the few wealthiest percentage points of Americans, even though they also help working- and middle-class families.
The Obama administration wants to extend the tax cuts for individual filers making over $200,000 and couples filing over $250,000 which would result in the same substantial tax increases for the rich while leaving most of the nation with their lower taxes. Republicans and some Democrats are looking to extend all of the tax cuts, at least until the economy is looking stronger.
With elections in November, many politicians are hesitant to take a definite position on an issue that would affect so many of their constituents, and deadlock is expected to remain for some time. But as the deadline for extending the cuts gets closer, tensions are rising on whether anything will ever end up being done.
