Tax cut extensions in limbo, prompt questions

President Obama wants the middle class to pay less taxes and the wealthy to pay more.

But who really pays if tax cuts for people and small business owners who make more than $250,000 dollars are slashed? Certified public accountant Wes Price told me, “Everyone pays.”

“All those folks that are employed, their safety net is the health of that business. And if the business starts paying more taxes, that business is less healthy,” said Price.

Price is talking particularly about small businesses, which fall into the realm of flow-through enterprises, which you might see in a manufacturing company — big or small.

“Those jobs are in those small businesses because they’ll show more profit, but they’re turning right back around and pouring it back into their business,” Price said.

But if the business has to pay more in taxes, Price says it will have less money to put back into the business — and less money to create new jobs.

“That is just Economics 101,” Price said. “If you increase a cost for a business or the cost of doing business, that’s going to impact that business and its ability to flourish.”

Price says taking away tax cuts for the wealthy but keeping them for the middle class is a dangerous move.

“What we don’t want to do is have a system that discourages people from taking a swing at the fence and trying to do well,” he said.

While Republicans and Democrats disagree over taxing the rich, both support extending tax cuts for the middle class for one year. But because neither party is pushing to extend payroll tax cuts, the middle class could still take a hit.