VOA慢速英語(yǔ):US Congress Avoids Fiscal Cliff, Postpones Budget Decision

[00:00.00]From VOA Learning English, [00:02.57]this is the Economics Report in Special English. [00:07.13]On January first, both houses of the United States Congress [00:12.66]approved a plan that will increase taxes for most Americans. [00:18.64]But the agreement avoided much larger tax increases [00:22.80]that were set to take effect this year. [00:26.60]President Obama signed the bill into law late Wednesday. [00:31.85]In a statement, he noted the importance of a balanced approach [00:37.17]to the country's fiscal problems. [00:40.00]"Today's agreement enshrines, I think, [00:42.84]a principle into law that will remain in place [00:44.95]as long as I am president: [00:46.06]The deficit needs to be reduced in a way that's balanced. [00:49.31]Everyone pays their fair share. Everyone does their part. [00:53.57]That's how our economy works best. That's how we grow." [00:58.18]The combination of higher taxes and automatic budget cuts [01:02.69]has been called the "fiscal cliff." [01:06.21]That cliff has been avoided. [01:09.21]But much remains to be done. [01:12.07]Congress has given itself another two months to decide [01:17.09]on how to cut the federal budget. [01:19.94]More tax money and budget reductions [01:23.75]are needed to cut the federal deficit. [01:27.31]That deficit was over $1 trillion last year. [01:33.22]The new law increases the tax rate [01:36.21]on individuals with earnings of over $400,000 [01:41.37]and on couples with earnings of over $450,000. [01:47.44]All working Americans will have some kind of tax increase. [01:52.76]This is because the share of Social Security taxes paid by employees [01:58.91]will return to 2010 levels, an increase from last year of two percent. [02:06.38]But the largest part of the tax increase will affect those [02:12.86]with a lot of investment income and those with very high wages. [02:18.26]Taxes on investment gains and dividends, [02:22.51]payments from some kinds of securities, will increase. [02:27.47]Also, the top income tax rate will go to 39.5 percent from 35 percent. [02:37.54]Overall, the effect of the law is simple. [02:42.19]It will be the first major tax increase in 20 years. [02:47.67]But the new law means only half of the deficit question has been answered. [02:54.18]Taxes provide revenue to finance government operations. [02:59.49]But budget cuts reduce costs. [03:03.77]And lawmakers will have little time to debate. [03:08.38]The federal government has reached its legal debt limit. [03:12.79]That is the borrowing limit, set by Congress, for the government. [03:18.65]Congress will have to raise the debt ceiling by late February. [03:24.36]That will be the job of the 113th Congress, which was seated on Thursday. [03:32.56]In addition, lawmakers will have to make difficult budget decisions by March first. [03:39.93]On that date, big, automatic budget cuts, [03:44.03]or sequestration is set to take place across the federal government.

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