While the tax package that Congress
passed New Year’s Day will protect 99 percent of Americans from an income tax
increase, most of them will still end up paying more federal taxes in 2013.
The reason being is that the legislation did
nothing to prevent a temporary reduction in the Social Security payroll tax
from expiring. In 2012, that 2-percentage-point cut in the payroll tax was
worth about $1,000 to a worker making $50,000 a year.
The Tax Policy Center, a
nonpartisan Washington research group, estimates that 77 percent of American
households will face higher federal taxes in 2013 under the agreement
negotiated between President Barack Obama and Senate Republicans. High-income
families will feel the biggest tax increases, but many middle- and low-income
families will pay higher taxes too.
Households making between $40,000
and $50,000 will face an average tax increase of $579 in 2013, according to the
Tax Policy Center’s analysis. Households making between $50,000 and $75,000
will face an average tax increase of $822.
Crenshaw County Public School employees can expect an additional 2% in social security to be withheld in January.
