[quote]When Congress returns in mid-November, lawmakers will face a daunting tax agenda that, left unresolved, would cost taxpayers trillions of dollars beginning next year.

Shortly after they adjourned this week, Democratic leaders vowed that extending middle-class tax cuts enacted by President George W. Bush would be their top priority upon returning after the elections.

But that promise barely scratches the surface of the unfinished tax business that awaits them.

If Congress does nothing on taxes by the end of the year:

- The estate tax will return to pre-2001 levels, socking estates worth more than $1 million with a 55 percent tax.
- The capital gains tax on most assets will jump from 15 percent to 20 percent. - Dividends currently taxed at 15 percent will skyrocket to individual tax rates that go as high as 39.6 percent.
- The Making Work Pay tax break will cease to exist.
- The Alternative Minimum Tax will hit the middle class for 2010 tax returns.
- A slew of tax breaks that expired last year, including credits for research and development expenses and relief for college tuition, will not be available for 2010 tax returns.
- The Child Tax Credit will revert from $1,000 to $500.

When combined with inaction on the Bush tax cuts affecting marginal rates, taxpayers would be hit with a tax increase that easily tops $4 trillion over the decade if all the tax issues are untouched. Next year’s increase alone would amount to over $200 billion, according to Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee.

Passing legislation on taxes has proved difficult this Congress, and time is running out for lawmakers to take action. As the Hill reported this week, Democrats are considering votes on up to 20 pieces of major legislation during the lame duck.

With such a packed scheduled for the short post-election session, it’s unlikely that there will be enough time to get to everything on the tax agenda.

“I think that we may very well have some unresolved issues go into the year 2011,â€