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From the transcript:
Catherine: Let’s talk a little bit about the fiscal cliff and your goals. It’s very important before the end of the year. Are there going to be changes in the tax code? And again, we don’t know for sure what’s going to happen. But if there’s going to be possible changes that could impact you, we want to make sure you understand what they are so that you have time before the end of the year to speak with your CPA or tax preparer – if you do your own taxes, take the time to sit down and look at this before the end of the year.
We also want to make sure that in your 2013 budget you have prepared for the fact that there is likely to be additional taxes one way or the other. Forewarned is a good thing, and that’s the goal tonight, to give you the background you need to sit down and then take some time to look at your unique situation and see what, if anything, you can do to make sure you’re prepared for what’s going to come. And again, I just want to say that each person listening tonight has their own unique situation. We’re going to be speaking generically, but before you take action or assume something’s true, you really do need to consult with an expert that understands your unique situation.
Joining me tonight is Chuck Gibson, who’s not a stranger on The Solari Report. We did a great equity markets overview recently, and then before that we did a “View from Silicon Valley” overview of the technology trends that we expect to impact the equity markets. The next equity overview is coming up on January 18th, 2013. That’s one you don’t want to miss.
Chuck is the President of Financial Perspectives, and he’s my partner and a managing member of Sea Lane Advisory. And also joining us is our powerhouse, Melanie Pelayo who works with Chuck as a Certified Financial Planner and manages the Sea Lane Investment Committee for us. She’s also licensed as an enrolled agent, but doesn’t practice. Melanie – I’m just going to tease her now – happens to be very smart. And from my point of view, she has an encyclopedia capacity for remembering the complexities of financial planning, which was one of the reasons I was delighted when she and Chuck said that they would join me this evening.
Let me just note that we’re also going to be covering a fair amount of ground tonight, and I’m going to take extra time because it’s important that we not race too much and go into the details where appropriate. So Chuck and Melanie, are you with us?
Chuck: I am. Good evening, Catherine.
Catherine: Good evening.
Melanie: Hi, Catherine. It’s Melanie. Good evening.
Catherine: Hi, Melanie. Okay – take it away, Mel. I’m going to start with you:
taxes and the fiscal cliff. Can you give us an overview?
Melanie: Sure. I’m actually going to be referring to Chart 1 when I start this, and so if you guys can take a look at that – when you look at the fiscal cliff, there are actually two elements of the fiscal cliff. There’s the tax increases, which is of most concern to most individuals, and then the spending cuts portion of it. And all told, the fiscal cliff’s impact would be to decrease the GDP by $650 million according to the Congressional Budget Office. In absent legislative action, the tax impact in that is going to be around $500,000.00, which for households is going to average almost $3,500.00 each, which is approximately 25 percent above what they would be without the fiscal cliff going into place.