Why would anyone raise prices when sales are declining? That's essentially what will happen if Congress does nothing and does not extend the Bush tax cuts. Taxes will go up for everyone. (If Congress really wanted to stimulate the economy, it would make the tax cuts permanent.) Congressman John Shinkus (R-IL) notes, "It has been estimated that the average family of four earning $50,000 would pay $2,900 in higher taxes, and the average family of four earning $100,000 would pay $4,500 more in higher federal income taxes in 2011." To calculate your new tax burden, go to the
MyTaxBurden.org calculator
Shinkus, writing in the Belleville News-Democrat, published on Nov. 2, notes, "If nothing is done, every tax rate will go up; the marriage penalty relief will go away; child tax credits will drop; the death tax returns with a vengeance; and many other tax breaks go away."
This information comes to me via one of my favorite organizations, The Tax Foundation, which has carries no ideological flag other than for a sensible tax code. In short, the organization is an equal-opportunity critic of any government entity or its representatives who call for stupid or non-sensible fiscal policies. Here is how it describes itself: "The mission of the Tax Foundation is to educate taxpayers about sound tax policy and the size of the tax burden borne by Americans at all levels of government. From its founding in 1937, the Tax Foundation has been grounded in the belief that the dissemination of basic information about government finance is the foundation of sound policy in a free society."