Federal Taxes Still Increasing Across The Board

Despite declarations from President Obama and others saying Tuesday night’s fiscal cliff deal to be a victory for middle-class workers, taxes are still going up across the board. The increase comes as an answer to the nation’s trillionaire deficit, as in the coming years, the problem should fix itself.

Can you say, “I’ve heard that before?”

Under the agreement by the White House and Senate Republicans, 77 percent of America will be forced to fork over higher federal taxes in 2013, says FOX News.

Households making between $40,000 and $50,000 will face an average increase of $579 in 2013, according to the Tax Policy Center’s analysis. Households making between $50,000 and $75,000 will face an average tax increase of $822. The package passed by both chambers continues Bush-era tax rates for individuals making less than $400,000 and married couples making less than $450,000, reports Newsday. High-income families will also pay higher taxes this year as part of Obamacare. As part of that law, a new 3.8 percent tax is being placed on individuals making more than $200,000 a year and couples bringing in more than $250,000.

Roberton Williams, a senior at the Tax Policy Center, put it simply:

“If you’re rich, you’re almost certain to get a big tax increase.”

Social Security is financed by a 12.4 percent tax on wages up to $113,700, with employers and workers paying half and half. The deal passed Tuesday night only begins a new round of congressional debates over the debt ceiling and automatic spending cuts that would largely hit the Pentagon. Democrats are likely to continue pushing for tax hikes as part of those debates, while Republicans are demanding spending cuts and entitlement reform.

Nobody is immune, but, if we play the cards right, we can recover from the recession.