Tax Experts Warn: Hikes Are Coming

While many Americans are in a state of depression Monday as they mail hefty tax checks to Uncle Sam, the news will ultimately get worse, tax experts tell The Hill. Taxes will eventually move higher thanks to a budget deficit of $1 trillion a year for as far as the eye can see, they say.

“We’re going broke,” says Clint Stretch, managing principal for tax policy at Deloitte Tax. “Whenever we’ve had big deficit-reduction measures in the past, it’s always had some spending cuts and some tax increases.”

The Bush-era tax cuts will likely expire for the wealthy after 2012, when they are now slated to expire for all Americans, some experts say. President Barack Obama has expressed strong opposition to continuing the cuts for those with annual income of at least $200,000.