Orrin Hatch says he's 'very concerned' about 'taxmaggedon,' election

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) warned business leaders of difficult times if Congress does nothing about the tax increases set to rise at the beginning of 2013 at a meeting in the Grand America Hotel on Tuesday.

The "taxmaggedon" will hurt an economy that is struggling to crawl out of the recession, Hatch said during the Mountain West Capital Network’s Utah 100 event.

Hatch called for an appeal to Obamacare and a simplified tax plan to help small businesses grow.

The senator endorsed presidential candidate Mitt Romney, saying he believes he will help the economy recover.

"I am very, very concerned," Hatch said. "This is the single most important election of my lifetime."

A series of tax cuts implemented during George W. Bush's term are set to expire at the beginning of 2013.

The average family will pay nearly $3,500 more in taxes in 2013 if 2001 tax cuts expire, which could plunge the country into another recession, according to a study from the Tax Policy Center on the upcoming fiscal cliff.

Nearly 90 percent of Americans would receive tax increases in the coming year if the nation topples off the cliff, according to the study.

The average tax burden for families in the U.S. would increase by 5 percent, to $3,446.

“If the president and Congress do not act, taxes would jump for most Americans and government spending would drop sharply,” the Tax Policy Center economists said in the report. “Those changes would reduce the federal deficit significantly in 2013 and subsequent years, slowing America's build-up of debt and reducing debt as a share of gross domestic product. But the resulting macroeconomic tightening could well push the country back into recession in 2013.”

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