Extending tax cuts or letting them expire could cost Obama

McClatchy reports:

With the clock ticking toward a massive, automatic tax increase at the end of this year, President Barack Obama on Monday will launch a political battle over who will pay higher taxes and who won't.

Without action, all the Bush-era tax cuts that were enacted in 2001 and 2003 will expire on Dec. 31.

The $1,000-per-child tax credit will drop to $500 per child. Income tax rates will increase for all taxpayers. All taxes on capital gains, dividends and estates will rise.

With his budget proposal Monday, Obama will urge Congress to extend all of the Bush-era tax cuts for those who make less than $250,000 a year and to end those cuts for everyone who makes more than that, as he promised in his campaign.