This Is Why They Call It TAXMAGEDDON!

Chart of the day, via Business Insider:

This weekend, NYT’s David Leonhardt coined the term ‘Taxmageddon’ to describe the huge tax hikes that are coming at the end of 2012 if Congress does nothing.
It sounds like that term is going to stick. It’s being used on a Mitt Romney call with reporters today.

So how big of a deal is the expiration of all these tax cuts?

This chart from Strategas Research, posted by Jim Pethokoukis, puts the hikes into some very helpful context.

The potential fiscal drag is 3.5% of GDP, vastly more than any other previous tax hike, and bigger than the last 6 combined.