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The Only Thing Worse Than Obamacare is Obamacare Without A Mandate
November 16, 2011 | 9 comments
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Obama “Can’t Wait” to Target Waste, Fraud and Abuse in Health Entitlements
November 15, 2011 | 3 comments
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Supercommittee Would Rather Change the Rules Than Make Budget Cuts
November 14, 2011 | 7 comments
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As Supercommittee Faces Failure, Both Parties Have to Deal With Defense Cuts
November 11, 2011 | 4 comments
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It’s About More than Marginal Tax Rates
November 10, 2011 | 4 comments
The Spectacle Blog
Details have leaked out about the tax deal that Republican members of the deficit Supercommittee offered to Democrats. Led by Sen. Toomey (Penn.), the GOP takes aim at itemized deductions, broadening the base while lowering the rates in a scaled-down form of some plans we’ve seen from the Simpson-Bowles commission, Rep. Ryan and GOP contenders.
— All marginal income tax rates would be lowered by 20 percent, meaning the top rate would go from 35 percent to 28 percent and the bottom rate would go from 10 percent to 8 percent.
— The top tax rate on capital gains would remain 15 percent.
— The top tax rate on dividends would remain 15 percent.
— The estate tax would stay at 35 percent, with the first $10 million of a married couple’s estate exempt.
— The tax benefits from itemizing deductions and excluding employer-provided health insurance from taxable income would be limited to 2 percent of taxpayer’s adjusted gross income.
— A new measure of inflation would be used to adjust the tax brackets each year, resulting in more people jumping into higher tax brackets as their wages increase.
According to the GOP’s estimates, the plan would amount to a net revenue increase of $290 billion over ten years. Democrats claim that the revenue increase would fall disproportionately on middle-class income-earners. After a decade in which the Bush tax cuts made the tax code more progressive than ever, it’s difficult to raise revenue without raising the code’s progressivity and at the same time making a meaningful dent in the deficit.
My suspicion is that Democrats are just ideologically committed to a high marginal rate, and don’t care how they get there. The Left romanticizes the 70% rate of the 1970s, even though it didn’t bring any more revenue than the lower rates of today. That will make it very, very difficult to get to a sane, pro-growth reform of the tax code.
View all comments (11) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Kevin Glass
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David W| 11.17.11 @ 2:20PM
They could make the marginal rate 90%. But if the tax code isn't changed, or isn't changed in the right way nothing will really change. Oh wait, by increasing the rate, but not touching the code, the liberal rich can still hide their money from the IRS but can look like the good guys.
Now it all makes sense to me (like Buffet supporting the dumb ideas of Obama. Why would he, until I learned that oil from Canada can still come in after Obama shelved the pipeline project, but would be in tank cars owned by Buffet's BNSF. Very clever Warren).
LarryK| 11.17.11 @ 3:16PM
Obama - benefit a few to the detriment of many.
Sounds like communism.
sjccoach| 11.17.11 @ 3:17PM
Instead of real spending restraint the Establishment Republicans are again caving into the Democrats on tax increases. This bill will define rich down to under $200,000. Then later on with Republican collusion the Democrats will again raise the tax rates while the deductiond will not come back. I for one am tired of the Establisment working over the country to get more revenue for an instiable government. It is time for the Republican party to die and a real conservative party to take its place.
Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 11.17.11 @ 3:27PM
The Republican tax plan looks like it was created by half witted morons.
If that 2% rule is put into effect on itemized deductions, it would lead to huge tax increases for millions of citizens and would cause further declines in multiple industries leading perhaps to a never seen before catastrophre in the housing industry which would make the current horrible situation much worse.
I'm surprised the Democrats didn't leap at that. It would amount to a huge tax increase on just about everyone who pays taxes and would significantly reduce taxes on those who don't pay anything or are close to not paying anything.
Whoever proposed it either doesn't care about the effects or was too stupid to understand falling dominoes.
SeanL| 11.18.11 @ 8:29AM
I agree - If someone earns $100,000 a year - 2% would only amount to $2000 - much less than the standard deduction - which means that everyone would loose their itemized deductions - this would increase the amount of taxes paid on everyone who itemizes which means most of the middle-class as well.
Rogue Elephant| 11.17.11 @ 7:46PM
Crank up th RINO tax hike propaganda machine. Saw this one coming a mile away when that nitwit Boehner sold us down the river in the debt ceiling deal. The GOP establishment is giving the Tea Party the finger on this one.
jocon307 | 11.17.11 @ 9:33PM
I agree that this is a terrible plan and I've spent the last 2 days trying to get that point across. I've called Toomey (left a message) Boehner, McConnell (lukewarm), the RNC (spoke to a disgustingly rude and argumentative young man), and today Henserling (very polite young lady).
I live in NJ, I bought my house (my first house) 3 years ago. My income is high enough that already some of my deductions are limited or excluded. I think this has the potential to ruin me. Is this going to be my reward for working my tushy off last year to elect as many of the pubbies as possible?
I'm pretty livid about this whole thing.
The republicans have put tax increases on the table and what have the dems offered? Precious nothing it seems to me.
And where are the concrete details? What is a "high" income? $200K don't make you rich here in the NYC metro area.
Barack Obama may have alienated his base, but it seems like the Republicans are out to destroy theirs.
Brendan| 11.18.11 @ 10:32AM
Jocon is correct. The demoncrats ran up the housing market by allowing people with no skin and the game and stated incomes (ie, lies) to buy houses. The resultant bubble has ruined millions in this country. Now the republicRats want to destroy those who bought their houses, knowing that they had a deduction that made that purchase affordable. That will ruin millions more and completely devastate what remains of the housing market.
Combine this with the govt plan to start to rent Freddie/Fannie foreclosed homes (instead of just selling them at market and getting them off their books) and we see their game. GWBush, the most marxist president ever elected (prior to the One) started the way down the world, and his cronies in congress (Boner and others) will finish the deal.
Fine. I'm getting ready to shrug anyway. Loosing my house will make it that much easier. How will they pay for things when no one is working anymore????
Chris Pedersen| 11.18.11 @ 2:57PM
Maybe this author could educate himself in the complete concept of the Fair Tax Plan [FTP] - HR-25 in toto and further at fairtax.org, writing favorable articles for it's passage. After all, it is the best idea out there as a total "Tax Reform Bill" with the exception that the politicians want to maintain their "Power" through demogouge rather than "transfering" it back to "We The People" so as to keep their Status [Statist] Quo of "picking the winners and loosers" with the......
[I]nternal [R]acketeering [S]service Of The United States Of La Cosa Nostra, America's Federal Mafia......Penalties-[Juice Payments et. al. HR-25! Its time has come!
This also applies to the "Lazy" conservative alternative Media to advance its merits and end once and for all the PC Bulls*t of "fairness" when its staring everyone in the face, absent the [M]axist [S]atist [M]edia who will NOT report anything of genuine substance anyway, while the silence of every conservative writer of every conservative website fails to inform the "Public" at large. This I say with fortitude because fairtax.org is the only place I'VE SEEN "Reason and Truth Brought to my ears"
Why not Consevative writers , Journalist and Authors? Their time has come too!
Chris Pedersen| 11.18.11 @ 2:58PM
Maybe this author could educate himself in the complete concept of the Fair Tax Plan [FTP] - HR-25 in toto and further at fairtax.org, writing favorable articles for it's passage. After all, it is the best idea out there as a total "Tax Reform Bill" with the exception that the politicians want to maintain their "Power" through demogouge rather than "transfering" it back to "We The People" so as to keep their Status [Statist] Quo of "picking the winners and loosers" with the......
[I]nternal [R]acketeering [S]service Of The United States Of La Cosa Nostra, America's Federal Mafia......Penalties-[Juice Payments et. al. HR-25! Its time has come!
This also applies to the "Lazy" conservative alternative Media to advance its merits and end once and for all the PC Bulls*t of "fairness" when its staring everyone in the face, absent the [M]axist [S]atist [M]edia who will NOT report anything of genuine substance anyway, while the silence of every conservative writer of every conservative website fails to inform the "Public" at large. This I say with fortitude because fairtax.org is the only place I'VE SEEN "Reason and Truth Brought to my ears"
Why not Consevative writers , Journalist and Authors? Their time has come too!
Andy | 11.20.11 @ 10:46PM
MOV to MPEG Mac,
M4V to MOV