SPOKANE, Wash –
Looking through reports of what may or may not change on your tax return come
January 1, 2013, you feel like you need your doctorate in accounting to figure
out all the potential changes that may be coming to your
family.
Mel and Jana Craven of
Spokane are one of many couples curious to get that
answer.
They're a
middle-income couple, with grown kids and a mortgage to pay – but they also have
two employees to pay at their family-owned small business.
Three years ago, the
Cravens bought Northwest Speed and Marine, a boat repair shop in North Spokane,
and business has been good – so far.
But, they're worried
the Fiscal Cliff may send their customers overboard.
"For us as business
owners, it's pretty critical," Mel Craven said.
Like most
middle-income earners, the Cravens' income tax will go up roughly 4%, from 14%
to 18%, which translates to roughly $2,000 a year.
Additionally, the tax
credit for married couples is dropping from $11,900 down to $9,900, which would
leave them on the hook for an additional $2,000.
And it's a good thing
their kids are grown; tax credits for families with children would go down, and
federal programs that help pay for college could be slashed by automatic
spending cuts.
"I feel for the
families who have children, we've had our children, so we
know what that costs, and those costs are dramatic," Mel Craven added. "A lot of our customers have children,
and this is going to seriously affect our customers."
Their employees would
also be affected – like every American – with less money to take home in their
paychecks, as income taxes go up.
However, the Craven's
say they would up their employees' pay in order to cover the difference, but
that would hit their own wallets even harder.
"Everything's been so
tough the past few years, this is just going to make things even tougher," Jana
Craven said.
Still, while it may be
tough, the Cravens say they'll get by; and if going off the Fiscal Cliff helps
cut the U.S. deficit, they say maybe taking the fall isn't so
bad.
To find out how your
own family would be affected, check out these online fiscal cliff tax
calculators:
http://interactive.taxfoundation.org/taxcalc/#calculator
http://calculator.taxpolicycenter.org/
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and KHQ. All Rights Reserved. For more information on this site, please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
