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| Source:Americans For Tax Reform- Vice President Joseph R. Biden (Democrat, Delaware) |
"ATR's John Kartch Explains How Harry Reid's Tax Hikes Hurt Small Businesses"
President Obama and Senate Leader Reid have come out in favor and have proposed what's called a millionaires tax, which would raise taxes on anyone making a million$ a year or more. To pay for the American Jobs Act which has now been broken into several different bills, after the Senate GOP Leadership blocked the whole Legislation last week.
The millionaires tax proposal would also pay for long-term debt and deficit reduction by raising taxes on individuals making a million$ a year or more. An additional 5% increase in tax burden that these people would be required to pay. To help pay for the AJA and to help finance debt and deficit reduction and people who quite frankly can afford to pay this tax.
And now there's a growing bipartisan consensus that there's not only a need for tax reform that would eliminate most if not all tax loopholes and even raise the top tax rate at least in the short-term. But then lower all tax rates in the long-term to help pay for debt and deficit reduction.
This is something that Senator Tom Coburn one of the most fiscally conservative members of Congress Has already acknowledged, as well as the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles Debt Commission, as well as the Rivlin-Domenichi Commission.
There's only so much revenue that can be cut in the non-Medicare and Social Security social insurance programs. That by the way only represent about 15% of a 3.7T$ Federal Budget with a 14T$ National Debt and a 1.8T$ National Deficit. Defense, Social Security and Medicare represent around 2T$ in the 3.7T$ Federal budget and about 60% of the Federal budget.
I hope I haven't put you asleep with all of these numbers. (By the way) We are always going to have those programs, Congress will never allow for those programs to disappear. But since they all represent a solid majority of the Federal budget. We have to find a way to make savings in those programs without hurting them.
We also need tax reform that eliminates tax loopholes in the short and long-term, as well as raises taxes on the wealthy (people making a Million$ a year or more) not for new spending (other than the AJA) but to help pay down the national debt and get our debt and deficit under control. So we can have a strong growing economy in the future.
A millionaires tax is exactly that: a tax hike on people who can afford to pay more in taxes. At a time when we have large debt and deficit's.
There's not the votes in Congress right now to pass a millionaires tax and the President and Congressional Democrats understand this. But something they want to have and use as well as take to the people when they finally get around to reaching a debt and deficit reduction agreement with Congressional Republicans.
