| Raising Taxes on the Rich: Not Whether, but How and Bipartisan silliness on payroll tax cut |
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Bruce Bartlett held senior policy roles in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations and served on the staffs of Representatives Jack Kemp and Ron Paul. He is the author of the forthcoming book "The Benefit and the Burden."Last week, the Senate rejected proposals by both Democrats and Republicans to pay for an extension of the 2 percent temporary payroll tax cut enacted a year ago. The Democratic plan to finance it with a 3.25 percent surtax on millionaires garnered significantly more votes than the Republican plan to cut the number of federal jobs and freeze the pay of federal workers.This time last year Republicans were insisting that the Bush tax cuts be made permanent without paying for a penny of the cost, even though there is no evidence that they stimulated the economy. [Read the full article] It's getting only scant attention as Capitol Hill focuses on the expiring payroll tax cut, but Congress only has 11 days to complete its budget and keep most of the government funded through next year. The issue of disaster relief funding--which nearly blew up the budget in September--is threatening once again to gum up negotiations as the deadline nears. While party leaders insist that they'll get things finished before the Dec. 16 deadline, the issue highlights, once again, the tension between the GOP leaders and increasingly skeptical rank-and-file Republicans.In theory, there's no reason why the parties shouldn't be able to get together and pass a budget. Both sides agreed to a $1.043 trillion discretionary spending limit in the legislation to raise the debt ceiling this summer, and leaders from both parties have promised to stick to that level. [Read the full article] It's good to be richSlide 1 of 6When it comes to tax deductions, it is good to be rich -- the richer, the better.Middle-class America enjoys some of the same tax breaks as the wealthy on things like the mortgage interest on home loans, capital gains on retirement investments and donations made to charity.However, the rich enjoy these deductions and others to a wildly disproportionate degree when compared to the rest of taxpayers. According to the National Priorities Project, America's top earners will get an average tax cut of $66,384 in 2011 while the bottom 20 percent will realize an average tax savings of about $107.Seth Hanlon, director of fiscal reform for the Center for American Progress, says that while all tax breaks are well-intended, the "upside-down" nature of some miss their target. [Read the full article] 
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