Taxmageddon Will Decimate the Finances of Low-Income Americans
Patrick Tyrrell /
“Taxmageddon,” also called a “massive fiscal cliff” by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, refers to the assortment of expiring tax relief combined with new Obamacare tax hikes and the payroll tax restarting on January 1, 2013. Taxmageddon will be especially hard on areas of the country that can least afford it.
Unless Congress and the President stop Taxmageddon, no matter what income tax bracket you fall in, your marginal tax rate will be higher in 2013. The patch for the Alternative Minimum Tax is set to expire, hitting the middle class. The marriage penalty will return, harming married couples. Reductions in the Child Tax Credit and the Adoption Credit and the elimination of the tax-free Coverdell Education Accounts will also occur in 2013.
The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis has run the numbers on just how Taxmageddon will affect each state and congressional district. No one is exempt. The poorest 25 congressional districts will surely notice their average per tax return taxes going up $1,688 in 2013. Here is a list of the 25 poorest congressional districts by average adjusted gross income per tax return and the accompanying extra tax bill for that return in 2013 under Taxmageddon:
| Congressional District | Representative in 2010 | Party Affiliation | Average Increase per Tax Return |
| NY-16 | Serrano, José E. | D | $1,236 |
| TX-29 | Green, Gene | D | $1,411 |
| CA-20 | Costa, Jim | D | $1,344 |
| MO-08 | Emerson, Jo Ann | R | $1,677 |
| MS-02 | Thompson, Bennie G. | D | $1,709 |
| FL-17 | Wilson, Frederica S. | D | $1,897 |
| AL-07 | Sewell, Terri A. | D | $1,653 |
| PA-01 | Brady, Robert A. | D | $1,647 |
| KY-05 | Rogers, Harold | R | $1,535 |
| CA-31 | Becerra, Xavier | D | $1,430 |
| TX-16 | Reyes, Silvestre | D | $1,860 |
| TX-15 | Hinojosa, Rubén | D | $1,730 |
| NY-07 | Crowley, Joseph | D | $1,884 |
| MI-14 | Conyers, John, Jr. | D | $1,536 |
| AR-01 | Crawford, Eric A. “Rick” | D | $1,793 |
| CA-35 | Waters, Maxine | D | $1,671 |
| OK-02 | Boren, Dan | D | $1,846 |
| GA-02 | Bishop, Sanford D., Jr. | D | $1,660 |
| CA-43 | Baca, Joe | D | $1,798 |
| TX-28 | Cuellar, Henry | D | $1,989 |
| NM-02 | Pearce, Stevan | R | $1,803 |
| SC-06 | Clyburn, James E. | D | $1,944 |
| CA-47 | Sanchez, Loretta | D | $1,589 |
| TX-20 | Gonzalez, Charles A. | D | $1,984 |
| CA-34 | Roybal-Allard, Lucille | D | $1,586 |
Taxmageddon is already hurting all Americans, and more damage will occur the longer Washington waits to fix it.
America needs a predictable, rules-based fiscal policy as advocated by economist John Taylor. Instead, under current policy, American families from of all walks of life are threatened with being thrown over the fiscal cliff due to the nightmare that is Taxmageddon.