Tax credits also at stake in fiscal cliff debate, White House says

An estimated 447,000 Oklahoma families will lose access to the Child Tax Credit and about 90,000 families in the state will no longer be able to claim the American Opportunity Tax Credit that helps pay for college, according to the White House report.

The White House has been pressuring congressional Republicans to extend current income tax rates for 98 percent of taxpayers while allowing rates to rise for the top earners. The rates are set to increase automatically in January. Republicans agree with extending the tax rates for the middle class but don't want rates to go up for upper brackets, saying it would hurt small businesses that file returns under the individual tax code.

President Barack Obama last week called on Americans to urge Congress to extend the tax cuts, and the White House has been waging a public-relations campaign to highlight the potential consequences of letting them expire.

The Obama administration reported last week that 1.3 million Oklahoma families would see their taxes increase if no action is taken before the new year.

The White House report released Wednesday includes specific examples of how the tax increases would hit families at various income levels:

• A family of four with household income of $63,100 could expect a tax increase of $2,200. Of that, $890 would come from merging the 10 percent bracket into the 15 percent bracket; $1,000 would come from reducing the Child Tax Credit from $1,000 to $500 per child; and $310 would come from reducing the standard deduction for married couples.