As U.S. workers earn their first paychecks of 2013, many are finding their post-tax take home sum has decreased by 2 percent or more, The Sacramento Bee reports.
Reuters notes the federal tax rate increase mandated by the fiscal cliff deal has already lead many households to cut back on spending.
Ben DeCastro from Warren, Rhode Island, told the news service taxes on his wages increased 2 percentage points, which translates to roughly $30 less per paycheck. Warren works at a furniture supplier.
“That’s $30 I’m not going to spend at a restaurant,” DeCastro said.
Meanwhile, Matt Anhaiser, a car dealership employee from Sacramento told The Sacramento Bee he and his wife, a nurse, have seen their combined income decrease by $283 a month.
The higher payroll is tax is expected to weaken economic growth by 0.5 percent in 2013, economist Jeff Michaels told the newspaper. While the economy will grow by roughly 2 percent, he expects 2013 to be a sluggish year.
Michaels, the director of the University of the Pacific’s Business Forecasting Center, will see his own post-tax earnings go down by about $100 a month.
Many companies are still coping with the implications of the fiscal cliff solution. Outsourcing HR administration and payrolling can be a big time saver.
