R i g h t a r d i a: Big picture of GOP Tax Cuts for Wealthy Few

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Big picture of GOP Tax Cuts for Wealthy Few

August 12th, 2010 by Karina

Underscoring the hypocrisy of the GOP’s recent concern for our nation’s fiscal outlook, Congressional Republicans continue to call for an extension of the deficit-busting Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest few—saddling Americans with nearly $700 billion in debt.

According to a new report released this week from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, the Republican plan would add billions to the deficit immediately. From the Washington Post:

A Republican plan to extend tax cuts for the rich would add more than $36 billion to the federal deficit next year—and transfer the bulk of that cash into the pockets of the nation’s millionaires, according to a congressional analysis released Wednesday.

New data from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation show that households earning more than $1 million a year would reap nearly $31 billion in tax breaks under the GOP plan in 2011, for an average tax cut per household of about $100,000.

From the New York Times:

Democrats want to extend the tax cuts for all but the wealthy, while Republicans are fighting to maintain them for everyone…

For their part, Republicans do not emphasize the impact of extending the tax cuts for wealthy individuals. Rather, they say Mr. Obama is about to spring a big tax increase on many small-business owners who file their taxes as individuals.

Analyses from the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan research organization, show that less than 3 percent of filers with small-business income pay at the top two income tax rates, and many of those are doctors and lawyers in partnerships.

But a picture is worth a thousand words—Ezra Klein posted this chart comparing the average tax cut per taxpayer under President Obama’s plan (protected under statutory pay go) and the Republican plan: