While politicians are meeting in Washington hoping to come to a compromise, those in the Susquehanna Valley are hoping for the best.
With the deadline to resolve the fiscal cliff right around the corner, we decided to see how much it would cost the average taxpayer if no compromise is reached.
Using a fiscal cliff calculator from creditcards.com, we went to Colonial Park Mall to see how much more people would pay in taxes if we go off the fiscal cliff.
“You’d be charged an 2,000 extra in taxes over the fiscal cliff,” we told Brandon Erdman, who makes around $55,000 a year.
“That’s pretty wild,” Erdman responded.
The sentiment was the same from most of the people we talked to.
“I think that really sucks,” commented Joan Wells. “I think that’s bad! I think Republicans and Democrats need to get together because I think there is a lot of things we can cut.”
Joan Wells makes $22,000 a year, and when she saw that she could be paying an extra thousand dollars in taxes, she was not happy.
“That would mean my credit card debt would continue to go up,” Wells confessed.
Debt would go up for many, and the luxuries we enjoy would be cut back.
“Shopping, going out to eat, you know, just kind of watching my spending. Extra careful,” stated Alex Marroquin while talking about necessary changes if a deal is not reached.
“Probably not taking vacations, not buy things that you would otherwise buy during the year,” agreed Mark Fanelli, who would pay an additional $2,000 in taxes. “Yeah, it will definitely affect our household.”
A single person making $30,000 can expect to pay about $1,000 in additional taxes while someone making $50,000 would pay an additional $1600, and someone making $100,000 would pay about $4,000 more in taxes.
“It’s hard to believe they can’t come to a compromise. I think that most people want them to get something done and just do their job,” Fanelli concluded.
While many people will be celebrating New Years Eve, looking forward to a great 2013, when they wake up on January 1st, they may find that they have a hole in their pocket.
With the deadline to resolve the fiscal cliff right around the corner, we decided to see how much it would cost the average taxpayer if no compromise is reached.
Using a fiscal cliff calculator from creditcards.com, we went to Colonial Park Mall to see how much more people would pay in taxes if we go off the fiscal cliff.
“You’d be charged an 2,000 extra in taxes over the fiscal cliff,” we told Brandon Erdman, who makes around $55,000 a year.
“That’s pretty wild,” Erdman responded.
The sentiment was the same from most of the people we talked to.
“I think that really sucks,” commented Joan Wells. “I think that’s bad! I think Republicans and Democrats need to get together because I think there is a lot of things we can cut.”
Joan Wells makes $22,000 a year, and when she saw that she could be paying an extra thousand dollars in taxes, she was not happy.
“That would mean my credit card debt would continue to go up,” Wells confessed.
Debt would go up for many, and the luxuries we enjoy would be cut back.
“Shopping, going out to eat, you know, just kind of watching my spending. Extra careful,” stated Alex Marroquin while talking about necessary changes if a deal is not reached.
“Probably not taking vacations, not buy things that you would otherwise buy during the year,” agreed Mark Fanelli, who would pay an additional $2,000 in taxes. “Yeah, it will definitely affect our household.”
A single person making $30,000 can expect to pay about $1,000 in additional taxes while someone making $50,000 would pay an additional $1600, and someone making $100,000 would pay about $4,000 more in taxes.
“It’s hard to believe they can’t come to a compromise. I think that most people want them to get something done and just do their job,” Fanelli concluded.
While many people will be celebrating New Years Eve, looking forward to a great 2013, when they wake up on January 1st, they may find that they have a hole in their pocket.