is washington the most difficult thing you face at paychex? >> well, i certainly think it doesn't help. when you look at the nfib index and consumer confidence, both have fallen after they were starting to look up in the fall. i think it's really the fiscal cliff. all the attention on the fiscal cliff and no action is really producing i think a dampered view from small business and they're kind of waiting on the sidelines right now. >> but on the other side, if you're a company and we go over the fiscal cliff, how the heck do you figure out the paycheck and what has to be taken out unless you call paychex? >> depending on the number of regulations, there's probably going to be more regulation and that does help us. but we'd like to see new business formation get back to where it used to be a few years ago and i think you have to get past these things. what you're seeing in our clients, they're not opening up their second location, not hiring more employees. it's fairly quiet. it's fairly quiet. our checks per payroll and our client base is sti

you know, paychex is certainly ready to help.560,000 small and midsize businesses that are just waiting for this thing to get done and we're here to help them through it. we're going to be able to change the rates quickly. that's not the issue. the issue is really that our clients and so many other small and midsize businesses are facing uncertainty and things are just kind of stagnated until this thing gets decided. so you know, we're ready to handle it. the rates can come in from the treasury department. we'll change them within 24 hours. that's why you go to a company like us to outsource, and we'll be able to take care of our clients. >> what's irreversible? >> nothing, really. you know, what happens is the new rates get in place. we -- a company of our size we can do it quickly. and we're there to support our clients with information. and so forth. >> when does your deal get done, andrew, february 1st? >> i think late january or february. >> so what do you do, you go back -- so we get a deal in february or something, nothing

one of the first places you might feel it is in your paychex. the payroll tax holiday expires.th if you make $50,000 a year. the bush era tax cuts expire, and it's not clear what the tax rate would be. but the average household would see a tax increase of $3500 a year. that is according to the fax policy center. what about the 2012 tax returns? well, there would no fix for the alternative minimum tax, and that would delay tax filings. as many as 100 million people might not be able to file their return until late march. that means tax refunds could also be delayed, and some major tax credits would expire as well including the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit. >>> from a mars landing to a deep water dive, scientific and technical breakthroughs this past year were amazing. here's john zarrella with a look at the top 10. >> at number 10 a revolutionary camera called litro. >> it's such a powerful technology breakthrough, that this will forever change how we take and experience pictures. >> it captures the entire light field ail louse the focus and perspective to b