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Not So Permanent(tax cuts)
WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE ^ | Friday, February 11, 2005 | WSJ/REVIEW & OUTLOOK

Posted on 02/11/2005 3:28:24 PM PST by Conservative Firster

If there's one issue other than Iraq that was clearly litigated in last year's election, it was tax cuts. President Bush wanted to make them permanent, John Kerry pledged to repeal them, and we know who won. So it's frustrating to have to report that Republican Senators have already abandoned any hope of getting the 60 votes necessary to make them permanent.

No one is admitting this in public yet, but our sources tell us that's the political reality. The usual Republican suspects from New England are opposed, John McCain is sending out negative signals, and the truth is that even the White House is reluctant to push for tax cuts early, before the hard slog on Social Security. The Rovian strategy seems to be to wait until the great tax reform debate next year, when all tax issues will be resolved and rates are reduced to even lower levels. And, who knows, stranger things have happened.

Login E-Mail: aa1@justice.com

(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Editorial; Front Page News
KEYWORDS: bushtaxcuts; bushvictory; tax; taxcuts; taxes; term2
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1 posted on 02/11/2005 3:28:24 PM PST by Conservative Firster
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To: Conservative Firster
If a store normally sells 20 refrigerators of a certain model per day at a cost of $400, but decides for a that for a week it will sell them for $350, should that decision be expected to cost the store $1,000/day (or $7,000 total)?

If, during that week, customers flock the store and buy 100 refrigerators per day instead of 20, does that mean that the decision to cut prices cost the store $5,000/day ($35,000 total)--five times what was expected?

2 posted on 02/11/2005 3:36:26 PM PST by supercat (Michael Schiavo is trying to starve Terri not because she's dying, but because she ISN'T.)
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To: Conservative Firster

The 2006 off year elections should be interesting if the tax cuts are not made permanent.


3 posted on 02/11/2005 4:12:35 PM PST by chainsaw (Hillary Clinton-June 2004 - "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.")
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To: Conservative Firster

Republicans attacking tax cuts?

These might turn out to be four very long years for W.


4 posted on 02/11/2005 5:15:50 PM PST by USP_357sig
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To: Conservative Firster; Taxman; Principled; EternalVigilance; rwrcpa1; phil_will1; kevkrom; ...

So it's frustrating to have to report that Republican Senators have already abandoned any hope of getting the 60 votes necessary to make them permanent.

Seems like a few pubby senators need to hear from their folks!!!

Bush worked hard for us to get to where we are today, it's time to do our part to lock those cuts in.

refer Tax Freedom Day 2004 PDF http://www.taxfoundation.org/sr129.pdf

 

Total Effective Tax Rates by Level of Government
Percent Net National Product(NNP)

Year Federal State Total
1997 21.8% 10.3% 32.1%
1998 22.4% 10.4% 32.8%
1999 22.5% 10.4% 32.9%
20000 23.1% 10.4% 33.5%
2001 22.2% 10.5% 32.7%
2002 1 19.7% 10.2% 29.2%
2003 2 18.5% 10.1% 28.6%
2004 3 17.9% 10.0% 27.9%
Notes: Leap day is omitted to make dates comparable over time. Since depreciation is not available to pay taxes, GDP is an overstatement of spendable income for the purpose of measuring tax burdens. Depreciation is netted out of NNP.

0 Last year of Clinton administration when the HR25(Fair Tax Act) rate was estimated

1 Economic Growth and Tax Reform Reconciliation Act of 2001
2 The Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002
3 Job Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003

Sources: Office of Management and Budget; Internal Revenue Service; Congressional Research Service; National Bureau of Economic Research; Treasury Department; and Tax Foundation calculations.

 


 

A Taxreform bump for you all.

If you would like to be added to this ping list let me know.

John Linder in the House(HR25) & Saxby Chambliss Senate(S25), offer a comprehensive bill to kill all income and SS/Medicare payroll taxes outright, and provide a IRS free replacement in the form of a retail sales tax:

H.R.25,S.25
A bill to promote freedom, fairness, and economic opportunity by repealing the income tax and other taxes, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, and enacting a national retail sales tax to be administered primarily by the States.

Refer for additional information:


5 posted on 02/11/2005 5:38:15 PM PST by ancient_geezer (Don't reform it, Replace it!!)
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To: ancient_geezer

Senator McCain: "W wants a tax cut? Just who does he think is running this show?" :)

You gotta love Limbaugh parodies.


6 posted on 02/11/2005 5:50:16 PM PST by writer33 ("In Defense of Liberty," a political thriller, being released in March)
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Comment #7 Removed by Moderator

To: UnashamedAmerican

Are you the last one to know that when tax RATES go down, tax REVENUE goes up?

Now, if we can just keep them from finding new ways to spend it.

Is threatening congresscritters still illegal?


8 posted on 02/11/2005 10:43:34 PM PST by Badray (Quinn's First Law -- Liberalism ALWAYS generates the exact opposite of it's stated intent.)
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To: UnashamedAmerican
I'm all for tax cuts... as soon as the budget is balanced.

Why do you say that? Because of the deficit? If so, your position is ill-informed.

As they have everytime they've been tried, the last round of tax cuts increased tax revenues into the U.S. Treasury -- because they spurred economic growth.

Want to see the deficit rise? Raise taxes.

Want to see the deficit shrink even faster? Shrink spending. There is the solution you are seeking...

9 posted on 02/11/2005 11:06:17 PM PST by okie01 (The Mainstream Media: IGNORANCE ON PARADE)
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To: Badray
Is threatening congresscritters still illegal?

Not by my reading of the 2nd Amendment. Blackbird.

10 posted on 02/12/2005 4:17:39 AM PST by BlackbirdSST
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To: BlackbirdSST

See? That's the problem. Only you and me still read it that way. LOL

Only it's not even funny.



11 posted on 02/12/2005 7:21:17 AM PST by Badray (Quinn's First Law -- Liberalism ALWAYS generates the exact opposite of it's stated intent.)
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To: supercat
If a store normally sells 20 refrigerators of a certain model per day at a cost of $400, but decides for a that for a week it will sell them for $350, should that decision be expected to cost the store $1,000/day (or $7,000 total)?

What is the profit margin on the fridges? Did selling 100 lower priced fridges result in more profit than the 20 at the higher price?

Don't confuse profit NOT made as a loss.

12 posted on 02/12/2005 8:30:48 AM PST by CPOSharky (Demoncrat speak - "Bipartisan" is only used when Republicans are the majority.)
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To: supercat

It depends on what the margin is for the store on each unit. If the cost to the store is say $300, the store makes $3000 MORE profit at the $350 price than before.


13 posted on 02/12/2005 8:37:09 AM PST by expatpat
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To: Conservative Firster

Permanent tax cuts are pure fiction anyways.


14 posted on 02/12/2005 8:39:52 AM PST by Raycpa
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To: UnashamedAmerican
I'm all for tax cuts... as soon as the budget is balanced.

In the long run congress will always spend a greater amount than what is coming in. The only way to slow spending is to slow tax income. Lowering tax income lowers the amount congress can borrow from the market which lowers the amount of debt the nation is able to carry.

An analogy is your personal budget. If your monthly income is reduced, you have to reduce the amount of debt payments you can carry. You will also reduce the amount of debt a bank is willing to loan. The same thing happens with governments. Their ability to borrow is directly related to tax income. The lower the tax income the lower the ultimate debt.

15 posted on 02/12/2005 8:45:08 AM PST by Raycpa
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To: expatpat
It depends on what the margin is for the store on each unit. If the cost to the store is say $300, the store makes $3000 MORE profit at the $350 price than before.

What do you mean the store made more profit at $350? At $350, the store made $5,000 profit [$100*(350-300)] while if the price had been left at $400 immediately prior to the spike in sales they could have realized a $10,000 profit [$100*(400-300)]. >:*3

16 posted on 02/12/2005 8:53:23 AM PST by supercat (Michael Schiavo is trying to starve Terri not because she's dying, but because she ISN'T.)
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To: Raycpa
In the long run congress will always spend a greater amount than what is coming in. The only way to slow spending is to slow tax income. Lowering tax income lowers the amount congress can borrow from the market which lowers the amount of debt the nation is able to carry.

Ya know, this is my one worry about tax cuts. But I've never heard Democrats mention it in their opposition. I wonder why?

17 posted on 02/12/2005 8:54:11 AM PST by supercat (Michael Schiavo is trying to starve Terri not because she's dying, but because she ISN'T.)
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To: supercat

We are comparing the 20 refrigerators at $400 (20 x$100)with the 100 refrigerators at $350 (100x$50). The extra 80 refrigerators were probably sold because of the attractive lower price! It's called "market elasticity".


18 posted on 02/12/2005 9:00:01 AM PST by expatpat
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To: expatpat
We are comparing the 20 refrigerators at $400 (20 x$100)with the 100 refrigerators at $350 (100x$50). The extra 80 refrigerators were probably sold because of the attractive lower price! It's called "market elasticity".

You must be using some of that crazy Republican math. Everyone knows the extra refrigerators were sold because of global warming. [sorry if you didn't recognize the kitty-cat smiley in my previous post]

19 posted on 02/12/2005 9:08:08 AM PST by supercat (Michael Schiavo is trying to starve Terri not because she's dying, but because she ISN'T.)
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To: supercat

OK, I missed it.


20 posted on 02/12/2005 9:26:01 AM PST by expatpat
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