Rand's tax increase talking points...

[mnewcomb]

Please, for the love of all that is holy, can somebody get Ron/Rand these figures?

$1,600 billion yearly deficit
$900 billion yearly income taxes collected

DOUBLING income tax on EVERYONE still leaves a $700 billion yearly deficit...

 

[TheDriver]

Please, for the love of all that is holy, can somebody get Ron/Rand these figures?

$1,600 billion yearly deficit
$900 billion yearly income taxes collected

DOUBLING income tax on EVERYONE still leaves a $700 billion yearly deficit...

Of course, then, leftists will say triple it....

Washington, DC, March 12, 2010 -- Federal income tax rates would have to be more than doubled across the income spectrum if Congress were to close the deficit in fiscal year 2010, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Tax Foundation. Instead of taxing joint filers with rates ranging from 10 percent to 35 percent, tax rates would have to start at 24.3 percent and reach up to 84.9 percent.

"The federal government is spending so much that even if policymakers were willing to fund government services with actual tax revenue instead of piling on more debt, the federal income tax system in its current form wouldn't be able to raise that much," said Tax Foundation Director of Policy and Communications Bill Ahern, who authored the report, "Can Income Tax Hikes Close the Deficit?" The paper is No. 217 in the Tax Foundation Fiscal Fact series and is available online at http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/25984.

"Absent major changes in our tax code or spending patterns, the income tax system won't be able to raise as much revenue as the government plans to spend for the foreseeable future," Ahern said.

Even in 2012, when the President's budget projects a lower deficit, tax rates would still be need to be prohibitively high in order to balance the budget, with rates ranging from 15.8 percent to 62.6 percent.

Average tax payments would have to rise by almost $10,000 in 2010 to erase the deficit. The average tax payment of a tax filer making between $75,000 and $100,000 would increase by $11,164. Taxpayers with AGIs over $1 million would see their tax bills climb by $969, 505.

If high-income people had to pay a federal tax rate ranging from 65 percent to 85 percent, adding on an 8 percent rate in most states plus local income taxes and payroll taxes would push tax rates close to 100 percent for some households.

http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/25985.html

 

[0zzy]

Please, for the love of all that is holy, can somebody get Ron/Rand these figures?

$1,600 billion yearly deficit
$900 billion yearly income taxes collected

DOUBLING income tax on EVERYONE still leaves a $700 billion yearly deficit...

I'm no math major, but 900x2 is....more than 1,600. no?

edit: oh, 900 is after doubling it? ok nvm ^_^.

 

[TheDriver]

I'm no math major, but 900x2 is....more than 1,600. no?

edit: oh, 900 is after doubling it? ok nvm ^_^.

The 900 is already SPENT and a part of the budget (before it became unbalanced), and we still have a 1600 billion dollar hole, so doubling tax revenue would still leave us with a 700 billion shortfall. Tripling it however would leave us with a surplus (200 billion), if all factors stayed the same.

 

[JoshLowry]

The 900 is already SPENT and a part of the budget (before it became unbalanced), and we still have a 1600 billion dollar hole, so doubling tax revenue would still leave us with a 700 billion shortfall. Tripling it however would leave us with a surplus (200 billion), if all factors stayed the same.

Might as well multiply our current tax revenues by 700,000,000,000.

"It's not based on any particular data point," a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. "We just wanted to choose a really large number."

http://www.forbes.com/2008/09/23/bailout-paulson-congress-biz-beltway-cx_jz_bw_0923bailout.html

 

[TheDriver]

might as well multiply our current tax revenues by 700,000,000,000.

"it's not based on any particular data point," a treasury spokeswoman told forbes.com tuesday. "we just wanted to choose a really large number."

http://www.forbes.com/2008/09/23/bailout-paulson-congress-biz-beltway-cx_jz_bw_0923bailout.html

lol~!

 

[mnewcomb]

Of course, then, leftists will say triple it....

That is where we get them.

Imagine the exchange:

Rand: "What tax rate would you say is appropriate for the rich?"
Liberal: "We should put the top tax rate back to 39% [from 35%]."
Rand: "Even if we doubled ALL tax rates, making the top tax rate 70%, we would still have $700 billion yearly deficit."
Rand: "We would have to raise ALL tax rates by 277%, making the top tax rate 97%, to balance the budget without cutting spending."