The Tax Foundation:  “Polls show that many Americans are anxious about their taxes and believe their payments are rising. At first glance this seems like a public misperception because tax policy at the end of the Bush administration and the beginning of the Obama administration has been dominated by a blizzard of tax cuts, most narrowly targeted at a few taxpayers but some broadly benefiting low- and middle-income people. But paradoxically, the people are right to be worried about high taxes. With federal deficits growing and the U.S. debt mounting to alarming levels, Congress will soon need to cut spending or raise taxes to shore up the long-term fiscal outlook.”

Here we calculate what some typical tax returns will look like for tax year 2011 under three scenarios:

  • the tax policies that prevailed before President Bush was elected;
  • all Bush-era tax policies extended to 2011 (with no Obama changes); and
  • combined Bush and Obama policies, as outlined in the President’s FY 2011 Budget.”