Fiscal Cliff Looms as Congress Gets Back to Work

President, Congress have just a few days to avert automatic tax increases and spending cuts. Rhode Island's reps are urging their Republican colleagues to get back to work.

Congress and President Obama are racing against the clock this week as they make one last attempt to hammer out a deal to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff” the U.S. government is set to go over on New Year’s Day. Without a compromise deal to lower the deficit, the government will face a self-imposed deadline that triggers both spending cuts and higher taxes. Congress itself set the Jan. 1 deadline after failing to come to a budget compromise earlier this year. On Jan. 1, the George W. Bush-era tax cuts will expire, raising taxes on nearly all Americans. In addition, $1.2 trillion in spending cuts to defense and government programs will go into effect. The week before Christmas, it looked like a deal was possible, as President Obama and …

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Letters To the Editor

Gregory: Looming 'Fiscal Cliff' Would Be Disastrous For Economy

Northern RI Chamber asks for support in lobbying lawmakers to avoid implementing Budget Control Act of 2011.

  To the Editor: By now, most readers have probably heard of the so-called “Fiscal Cliff.” By way of a basic definition, the fiscal cliff is the phrase used to describe the challenge that the U.S. government will face at the end of 2012, when all the provisions of the Budget Control Act of 2011 are scheduled to go into effect. So what does it really mean to us as residents, taxpayers, business owners and employees? Well, let’s take a more in-depth look. Specifically, let’s look at what taxes are set to increase if nothing is done by the Congress and the President to prevent the act from taking effect. Well, if Congress and the President don’t act before January 1, 2013, the following taxes are set to increase at that time: Also, taxes that…

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