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11/13/2007
A snake in tax-cut clothing
I’m so sick of hyperbole. Everywhere in politics. I guess it’s what makes us tick. Damn.
So Representative Kagen is proud of himself because he voted for a tax cut. Something’s funny here. The “Temporary Tax Relief Act,” approved by the House on Friday, is a $78.3 billion NEW tax bill that Dr. Kagen is bragging about. A bill that was supported by Democrats and opposed by Republicans. Now you tell me that was a tax cutting bill. Not on your life.
Here’s how Rep. Kagen characterizes HR 3996:
“This bill delivers tax cuts to the American middle class. It’s about time families in Northeast Wisconsin got a break. They’ve seen their costs for health care, gasoline, property taxes and education skyrocket. This bill finally gives the middle class a tax break. It saves more than 62,000 households in Northeast Wisconsin from falling into the AMT tax trap.”
This bill gives America (primarily hedge fund, venture capital fund managers, real estate partnerships) a permanent tax INCREASE. Be not fooled! And it’s that INCREASE that Republicans are concerned about.
The AMT tax, meant for only a few (155!) wealthy millionaires when it was first imposed in 1969, now hits households with incomes as low as $50,000 – projected to hit a record 21 to 23 million families with an average tax increase of $2,000 on their 2007 tax returns. Wow.
Ok. So Congress has to do something about that. The only problem is that current and past Republican budgets (and the Democratic Congress) are relying on that AMT money. $840 billion worth over ten years.
So what does Charlie Rangel and his House Democrats do (including susceptible little freshmen legislators trying to spin a tax cut tale at home)? They temporarily lower the AMT – and to pay for it, they legislate a permanent new tax. Pretty tricky.
Here’s Representative Paul Ryan on the subject:
“We need a permanent repeal of the AMT or, at the very least, a short-term fix that will prevent this illegitimate tax hike from hitting more and more families next year. But raising taxes to stop an AMT tax increase makes no sense, and this circular logic hurts America’s economy.”
Rep. Ryan, the ranking member of the Budget Committee and the “leading supply-sider in Congress,” is leading the introduction of the Taxpayer Choice Act which would repeat the “hated” AMT, eliminating $840 billion in tax revenue over 10 years. Read the details, as shared by Representative Ryan.
Robert Novak calls the Ryan plan “the most far-reaching tax plan since Jack Kemp’s three decades ago. It would establish a radically simplified, flatter tax for an estimated 90 to 95 percent of income-tax filers….. [And] Kemp was also a lone wolf when he introduced his across-the-board tax cut, which became the heart of President Ronald Reagan's economic program.”
Thank you Representatives Sensenbrenner, Petri and Ryan for voting against the dastardly “Temporary Tax Relief Act.” Get it straight Dr. Kagen – you voted for a huge tax increase bill.
And keep at it, Paul Ryan.
COMMENTS
Thanks Jo. You did a great job of explaining the "Temporary Tax Relief Act".
Dale (Tue Nov 13 06:36:25 2007)
Tax cuts are great, but nobody is talking about cutting spending. If we want to cut taxes, we need to change the way Americans think about the role of government. If we continue to believe that the government should take care of us from cradle to grave, then tax cuts will lead us down a path of deficits. We need to change the way we think about foreign policy. Should America be policing the world? Should we be spending more than a trillion dollars nation building in Iraq?
This small quibble you have with Rep. Kagen is meaningless without addressing the wider issue of government itself.
I agree with you. Many agree with me, as well, that we won't cut spending until the taps run drier after forcing tax cuts. JE
Stephen Flynn (Thu Nov 15 12:46:29 2007)
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