Most would avoid higher taxes with GOP, Dem bills

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Do you make more than $200,000 annually, or $250,000 between you and your spouse? Do you expect to inherit an estate worth more than $1 million next year?

Do you claim the American opportunity tax credit to help pay college costs? Or are you a low- or moderate-income worker who relies on the earned-income tax credit or the child tax credit to supplement your household budget?

If your answer to the above questions is no — and that will be most of you — then you’re probably in that wide swath of people who Democrats and Republicans agree should not face higher taxes in January, when a slew of tax cuts expire unless Congress acts.

If you’re among the roughly 30 million households who answer yes, then either the Democratic or GOP tax bills that the Senate is expected to reject this week might mean paying more taxes.

Despite the high- wattage political theater over taxes dominating Congress these days, there’s a lot of consensus between the two parties over what should happen in the short term. In a campaign season dominated by the limp economy — and with neither party eager to boost taxes on voters so close to the elections — Democrats and Republicans want tax cuts for most Americans to continue through 2013 while lawmakers try to reduce the federal debt and overhaul the tax code.

“The broad range of tax cuts set to expire are ones both parties want to continue. The debate is over a fairly narrow but very symbolic range of taxpayers,” said Robert Bixby, executive director of the bipartisan Concord Coalition, which favors controlling budget shortfalls.

With neither side showing much inclination to compromise, the White House released a report illustrating what a stalemate that results in all the tax cuts expiring in January would mean. It said there would be an average $1,600 tax boost for 114 million households earning under $250,000 for couples or $200,000 for individuals, and blamed the GOP for the brewing impasse.

Republicans said it was Democrats pushing the battle to the brink so they can accuse the GOP of coddling the rich.