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The Tax Increases to Come: Democrats in Congress want to raise the top individual rate to 47%.
Wall Street Journal ^ | November 12, 2019

Posted on 11/13/2019 5:55:15 AM PST by karpov

The Democratic candidates for President are promising a smorgasbord of new taxes, but why wait until 2021? Last week Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen and Virginia Congressman Don Beyer unveiled the Millionaires Surtax Act, a plan to soak the top 0.2%.

The bill would put an extra 10% tax on individual income above $1 million, or $2 million for married couples. This surtax would apply regardless of the income’s source—whether from long-term capital gains, currently taxed at a top rate of 20%, or wages, taxed at rates up to 37%. The legislation’s backers say it would raise $635 billion over a decade, citing an estimate by the left-leaning Tax Policy Center.

Messrs. Van Hollen and Beyer would effectively lift the top tax rate on income to 47%, plus there’s the 3.8% ObamaCare surtax on investment income. Tax rates haven’t been that high in decades. Before Ronald Reagan’s big tax reform in 1986, the top rate was 50%. Since then it hasn’t broken 40%.

The loopholes were also bigger and more numerous then. Reagan’s 1986 law, for example, phased out the deduction for interest on credit cards and car loans. President Trump’s 2017 tax reform narrowed the interest deduction for homeowners, so only the first $750,000 of a mortgage is now eligible.

That 2017 law limited the amount of state and local taxes that can be deducted on a federal return. It used to be unlimited, but now the cap is $10,000. There are plenty of other examples, but the basic point is that the tax base has broadened. This is desirable economically as long as the trade-off is lower rates. If Democrats now try to raise income-tax rates back to their pre-Reagan heights, special interests will soon be busy carving out new loopholes, especially for the affluent.

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


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: incometax; taxes
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The government is not entitled to an arbitrary amount of any man's income, no matter how much he earns. Otherwise it is treating certain people like slaves. Why stop at 47%? Why not 97%?
1 posted on 11/13/2019 5:55:15 AM PST by karpov
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To: karpov

They’ve been running on this platform for around 80 years. So why is anybody shocked?


2 posted on 11/13/2019 5:56:24 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog (Patrick Henry would have been an anti-vaxxer)
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To: karpov

Dems will no doubt reverse the latest tax measures. They don’t care about the market...or “We the People”. They care about Power and nothing else.


3 posted on 11/13/2019 5:58:09 AM PST by Sacajaweau
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To: karpov

If people get worried about the Dems taking power, millions will “sell” securities and move to cash in their 401k’s. That stampede will certainly crash the market.


4 posted on 11/13/2019 6:00:18 AM PST by 1Old Pro
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To: karpov
"Why stop at 47%? Why not 97%?"

May as well make it retroactive for ten years while they're at it.

5 posted on 11/13/2019 6:01:00 AM PST by chief lee runamok (expect nothing)
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To: karpov
Otherwise it is treating certain people like slaves.

And just what do you expect from the original slavery party? Is it any wonder they love isLame?

The needs of the few, are to oppress the many.

6 posted on 11/13/2019 6:04:14 AM PST by rawcatslyentist ("All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing")
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To: Buckeye McFrog

They’ve been running on this platform for around 80 years. So why is anybody shocked?


Exactly. This is just at thinly veiled GOTV story for the Vote For Us Because We are Not Democrats GOP. Really, I can’t think of a single reason other than that to vote Republican in the Age of Trump. The GOP has utterly failed its voters time and again.


7 posted on 11/13/2019 6:04:45 AM PST by lodi90
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To: karpov
From the Department of Numbers:

Government Receipts and Expenditures as a Fraction of GDP

This shows historically, no matter the tax rate, receipts are typically between 15 to 20% of the GDP. This should mean that spending should not exceed 20% of GDP, and if one wants to increase government spending, one should want to increase the GDP.

8 posted on 11/13/2019 6:06:46 AM PST by kosciusko51
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To: Sacajaweau

“..They care about Power and nothing else....”
We old timers have a word for that: “COMMUNISM”.


9 posted on 11/13/2019 6:11:10 AM PST by lgjhn23 (It's easy to be liberal when you're dumber than a box of rocks.)
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To: lodi90

I see out residence Democrat Fascist Party bot is busy today.

If “you cannot see any reason to vote GOP” you either a brain dead Democrat Facist Party bot or simply brain dead.

WAKE UP YOU mindlessly ignorant fool. Are you really this stupid? Really simply cannot see the MASSIVE difference between the last 4 years of Trump vrs the 8 years of Obama?

The GOP Senate is the ONLY think keeping Trump in office right now. Democrat controlled Congress would of all ready impeached him

Stop with your daily mindless knee jerk political bigotry and rabid infantile ignorance. Pry open your ignorant welded shut mind ONE TIME and be an ration adult for a change


10 posted on 11/13/2019 6:12:11 AM PST by MNJohnnie (They would have to abandon leftism to achieve sanity. Freeper Olog-hai)
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To: karpov

One would think they’re crazy for pushing this. But their constituents do not see themselves as taxpayers. Just takers. They have no clue about basic economics

No voting for non taxpayers. Certainly not for welfare recipients


11 posted on 11/13/2019 6:14:22 AM PST by stanne
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To: karpov

Except for themselves I’m sure.


12 posted on 11/13/2019 6:17:08 AM PST by Texas Eagle (If it wasn't for double-standards, Liberals would be have no standards at all -- Texas Eagle)
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To: karpov

“....The government is not entitled to an arbitrary amount of any man’s income, no matter how much he earns. Otherwise it is treating certain people like slaves. Why stop at 47%? Why not 97%?...”
Exactly. It’s “legalized theft”.
The federal income tax started off real small so it was an “easy sell” to the unwashed masses. Lieawatha is doing the same thing with her demonic wealth tax....just a very small percentage to make it also an “easy sell” to the “unwashed masses”. The evil witch knows that if she can just get it on the books, the greedy communists can easily turn it into the same ghastly monstrosity that the federal income tax has become today. The communists are running out of other peoples’ money. They’re broke. They drool over the trillions that could be made from climate change taxes, fees, etc. They drool even more over the trillions in retirement accounts that they could confiscate from the unwashed masses. NO more taxes to fund their communist agenda.


13 posted on 11/13/2019 6:19:38 AM PST by lgjhn23 (It's easy to be liberal when you're dumber than a box of rocks.)
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To: karpov

People think that THEY will see some money from the rich getting soaked. The truth is that they won’t see a dime from it.


14 posted on 11/13/2019 6:19:58 AM PST by woweeitsme
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To: karpov

It going to have to go way beyond Tax Increases.

They promised about $67 trillion in new spending over 10 years. Medicare for all, Green New Deal, Cash subsidies for electric cars, “reparations” etc etc etc

Curremt total US Govt spending is about $4.45 trillion

We cannot tax enough to keep up with what they spend now! Democrats would have to whole scale revamp the existing tax system and massively increase the tax burden on everyone to pay for any of this.


15 posted on 11/13/2019 6:31:48 AM PST by MNJohnnie (They would have to abandon leftism to achieve sanity. Freeper Olog-hai)
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To: MNJohnnie

WAKE UP YOU mindlessly ignorant fool. Are you really this stupid? Really simply cannot see the MASSIVE difference between the last 4 years of Trump vrs the 8 years of Obama?

The GOP Senate is the ONLY think keeping Trump in office right now. Democrat controlled Congress would of all ready impeached him


LOL. I must be over the target if I’m getting flak from you.

Yes. I can see a massive difference between in the Senate during Obama and Trump. We had the GOP Senate greasing the Obama-Corker Iran deal while obstruction Trump’s Border Emergency. We had GOP in the Senate voting for communist Brennan while blocking MAGA DNI pick Ratcliffe. Etc., etc. You want more? I don’t think so.

We are the only thing keeping POTUS from being impeached. The GOP Senate would happily remove him and put Pence in the oval office if they could. Guaranteed.


16 posted on 11/13/2019 6:37:32 AM PST by lodi90
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To: lodi90

Maybe I need to make this clearer

You are completely ignorant of even the most basic understanding of how US Politics work.

So either you are a fool unknowingly propagandizing daily for the Democrat Fascist Party or you are knowingly a Democrat Fascist Party PR bot

So are you a political fool or a political fraud?


17 posted on 11/13/2019 6:51:13 AM PST by MNJohnnie (They would have to abandon leftism to achieve sanity. Freeper Olog-hai)
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To: karpov

They never stop. Taxing and spending (unwisely) are the only things Democrats know how to do.


18 posted on 11/13/2019 6:53:26 AM PST by beethovenfan (Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin)
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To: karpov

We need to stop protecting super wealthy democrats. All of Americas wealthiest people are democrat supporters. We should help the democrats tax their own to death.


19 posted on 11/13/2019 7:18:19 AM PST by cdpap
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To: MNJohnnie

Lighten up, Francis. Don’t be a Party bot, and don’t get personal.


20 posted on 11/13/2019 7:19:24 AM PST by rivercat
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