I told you so! Most thought that the tax raises that went into effect in the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 would be the end of the raised taxes. The Republicans agreed to raise taxes without receiving any concessions in spending from the White House in negotiating over the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. Now that it is time for the automatic cuts in spending to take place, the President does not want any spending cuts and wants to raise taxes again.
“Revenue” is the undercover word for “New Taxes”. The President wants more “Revenue”.
The Federal budget is like your checkbook. There is money in and money out. The Federal Government gets money in from taxes. There have been less taxes because the economy turned over in 2008 and has not lifted. Therefore, many Americans make way less money and therefore pay less taxes because there is less money to pay taxes on. The Federal Government has continued to spend without any sign of slowing down, even though the economy went south in 2008. The White House is still saying that it does not need to cut spending.
“You cannot write checks you cannot cash.” That is an old line talking about financial, emotional, physical responsibility, etc. You cannot pay for something that you do not have the ability to pay for. We just continue to “print money”. These are difficult and dangerous times and unfortunately it does not look like we are showing the discipline or toughness needed to get us over these tough times.
One of the interesting things the Congressional Republicans have offered is to put the automatic tax cuts with the White House and let the White House decide where the cuts would take place. This would put the responsibility in the White House and they can cut government waste. We all know there are lots and lots of it, let them prioritize and show leadership.
The President declines to accept that responsibility. He critizes and makes more “doomsday” statements.
It is frustrating to watch the lack of leadership in the government during such a difficult time in our Country’s history.
Stay tuned as we see what else is going to happen on the tax side from our benevolent leaders in Washington.
At the Law Firm of Steven Andrew Jackson, Attorney and Counsellor at Law, we have helped hundreds of families protect themselves and their loved ones, avoid Estate Taxes and Probate Costs, and keep their Estate Plans current with the law through The Customized Protective Estate Planning Solution™