Taxes

As Congress turns its focus to resolving the fiscal cliff - the end-of-the-year deadline after which deep cuts in spending and increases in tax rates for all earners take effect - there is much disagreement on how to bring down the deficit in a responsible way without harming our economy. The question of tax rates remains one of the largest sticking points to the debate.

When Congress returns to Washington after the election, we have a long list of items to address before the end of the year. One of the biggest priorities, especially for Nebraska producers, will be passing a responsible Farm Bill to prevent a lapse in policy. Congress also must act to prevent the largest tax hike in American history before the current rates expire on January 1, 2013.

The national economy is bleak. Four years after a deep recession, unemployment remains stubbornly high at 7.8 percent, and economic growth has slowed to 1.3 percent. Families and small businesses are struggling to make ends meet. As wages and benefits have been cut, prices of electricity, gas, food, and health care continue to rise. Clearly, we are not headed in the right direction.

Current tax rates are set to expire at the end of the year, resulting in the largest tax increase in American history. This economic calamity, known as “Taxmegeddon” or the “Fiscal Cliff,” could not come at a worse time for taxpayers.

America’s economy is stagnant and showing few signs of growth. The private sector is being strangled by government regulation, an overly-complex and uncompetitive tax code, and uncertainty generated by the threat of tax increases, an onerous health care law, and the ever expanding national debt.