Photo: Flickr/KP Tripathi

Late Tuesday night, the House of Representatives approved the Senate’s last-minute fiscal cliff” deal that raises taxes on most American workers. Here are some answers to important questions you may have about what lawmakers actually agreed to.

What does it boil down to? The law includes $10 in tax increases for every $1 in spending cuts. Ultimately, this bill actually increases government spending by $330 billion.

Will normal Americans like me be affected?  Continue Reading »

This morning’s September job report once again showed very little improvement in the job market.

Even though the unemployment rate dropped by three tenths of a percentage point, from 8.1 percent in August to 7.8 in September, the fact is that 12.1 million Americans remain unemployed and the economy only created 114,000 new jobs last month.

Are our elected officials going to change anything to allow for more job growth? Are they going to limit economic uncertainty by stopping the $494 billion tax increase coming January 1?

The Heritage Foundation’s Amy Payne explains we may have to wait a while: Continue Reading »

When Taxmageddon hits on January 1, 2013, the financial devastation will be immense. Heritage Foundation experts strongly oppose the liberal plan to allow such massive tax hikes during this tough economy.

Taxmageddon will affect all Americans. Here are five consequences we can expect on January 1: Continue Reading »

Former President Bill Clinton is highlighting today’s speakers at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. Liberals often attribute the strong American economy during the 1990s to Clinton’s tax hikes. But this just isn’t historically accurate.

Heritage Foundation tax expert Curtis Dubay explains:

The economic defense of the Clinton tax hikes does not hold up against the historical facts. The economy did exhibit economic growth during the 1990s, but it was well below potential. Moreover, rapid growth did not occur soon after the tax hike—it came much later in the decade, when Congress cut taxes. After the 1993 tax hike, the economy actually slowed to a point below what one would expect, considering the once-in-a-generation favorable economic climate that existed at the time. Continue Reading »

Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) posted a Heritage Foundation chart about the costs of Taxmageddon to his Facebook page:

Photo of Rep Walsh's post on Facebook

“The impending tax increase will be the largest since the end of World War II,” Walsh told his constituents and supporters. “How will it affect you? In my district, that will mean an average increase per tax return of $4,620 — fourth highest in the state of Illinois.”

Find out how Taxmageddon will affect you on Heritage.org.

The U.S. faces the prospect of a new recession and millions of lost jobs unless lawmakers act to stop the $494 billion Taxmageddon tax increases coming January 1, a Heritage Foundation expert warns.

“1.6 million more Americans will be out of work—on top of the 12.8 million who already want to work but can’t find jobs,” Heritage economist J.D. Foster explains, citing new government projections.

This chart makes clear the cost of Congressional inaction:

Do you think Congress and President Obama will act in time to stop Taxmageddon from going into effect on January 1?

The defense budget will suffer the greatest proportion of cuts under the Budget Control Act’s “sequestration” procedures, Heritage experts Steven Bucci and Alison Fraser explain.

“These cuts are alarmingly disproportionate: 43 percent of the sequestration cuts would come from defense, though it is only 11 percent of total spending,” Bucci and Fraser write.

Congress needs to undo the cuts to defense and instead offset them with cuts elsewhere. They should not raise taxes on Americans to bolster defense readiness. Continue Reading »

Contrary to repeated campaign promises, President Obama’s policies will increase taxes on the middle class.

Adding together state taxes, federal income tax, federal Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes, middle class Americans can expect to see their paycheck nearly halved, in most states the total amount deducted through payroll will be 43.12 percent. Heritage’s Patrick Tyrrell explains:

 In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent. This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent.

Scroll down on the infographic below to find your state and see how much middle-class Americans will lose under President Obama’s tax reforms.

On January 1, 2013 every tax-paying American will be hit by the largest tax increase in our history. $494 billion worth of tax hikes almost certainly will devastate our country, our economy, and our families.

Maryland taxpayers, for example, will face an average increase of $4,071 per tax return. Click here to see how your state will be affected.

Speaking on the Senate floor last week, Sen. John Thune (R-SD) quoted a report from The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis on the cost of the looming Taxmageddon tax increases.

“The Heritage Foundation recently published a study that estimated the tax increase per tax return in every state,” he said. In South Dakota, for example, taxpayers are facing an average $3,187 tax increase in 2013 alone.

Read the full Heritage report with state-by-state and district-by-district breakdowns of the costs to taxpayers of Taxmageddon. Reports like this one from Heritage’s Center for Data Analysis help lawmakers and citizens better understand the way public policy will affect them.

Watch the video of Thune’s remarks on the Senate floor: