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Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on Thursday rolled out a proposal for a “millionaires surtax,” amid a growing interest from Democrats in increasing taxes on the wealthy. “This is a bill designed to address two major problems of public policy: the lack of revenue, and inequality,” Beyer said on a call with reporters. “It’s a laser-focused solution that requires those who benefited the most from the economy to contribute in a way they simply haven’t been asked to before.” The lawmakers’ bill, which is being co-sponsored by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), would create a 10-percentage...

The housing market may indeed be recovering, as many experts suggest, but investors are still struggling to understand what, if any, taxes they'll owe upon selling their homes. At issue is how the new "Medicare tax" will apply to real-estate transactions. Passed in 2010 to help fund the health-care overhaul, this 3.8% surtax kicks in next year on many forms of investment income—including some interest, dividends, rents and capital gains. While its effect on home sales won't be as far-reaching as many fear, the Medicare tax could pack a punch for certain investors. It is not a sales tax. And...

Flush from last night’s victory, Harry Reid floated the possibility at a press conference this morning that Dems could revive the idea of a millionaire surtax when the talks begin over the year long payroll tax cut extension next year. “I’ve talked to Senate Republicans, plural, who think there should be a fair tax on rich people,” Reid said. “I’m going to make sure that my conferees understand that this could be part of what we try to do.” Given that Dems dropped the millionaire surtax during the talks over the payroll tax cut earlier this month, you’d be forgiven...

Senate Democrats proposed today a 5.0 5.6 percent surtax on the "rich," where they define rich as someone who makes a $1M or more.   Senator Schumer was instrumental in moving the threshold from $250,000 to $1M, apparently because he recognizes the impact it would have on small business, since much of this income is taxed as personal income:  On Wednesday, Schumer said raising taxes on families earning more than $250,000 a year, as Obama has long supported, would affect small businesses, an argument that is more associated with Republicans than Democrats. "It also would affect too many small businesses if...

LAST year’s stimulus spending is running out, yet unemployment stays stubbornly near 10 percent. And as state and local governments keep cutting their budgets, the economy desperately needs an additional spending boost. Concerned about growing federal deficits, however, many in Congress appear reluctant to act. Their worries are misguided. Yes, deficits are bad, but protracted unemployment is far worse. Still, it seems unlikely that additional stimulus legislation can attract the supermajority now required to clear the Senate. And even without such legislation, huge budget deficits loom for years. In the long run, these deficits will impoverish our grandchildren, just as...

With the official unemployment rate topping 10 percent and the “unofficial” rate approaching 20%, President Barack Obama has sought to reverse his plunging job approval numbers by launching what he calls a “domestic employment initiative.” “I am calling on the wealthiest 10% of Americans to help out the 10 percent who are unemployed by hiring them as domestic servants or personal aides,” Obama announced. “Even in these hard times, the upper crust of our society has more money than they need and lives in bigger houses than necessary. So, the means and infrastructure to support my initiative are already present....

The actual economic costs of the proposed health care surtax and the expiration of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts will be twice the amount of revenue the government intends to collect. According to a new analysis from the Tax Foundation, the higher tax rates are estimated to raise $88 billion in 2011, but the economy will incur an additional burden of $76 billion—or "deadweight loss"—as a result, which raises the total cost of the tax increases to $164 billion, roughly double what lawmakers intend to raise. Tax Foundation Special Report No. 170, "The Excess Burden of Taxes and the...

With the expiration of the Bush tax cuts and the implementation of a proposed health care surtax, in 2011 the top federal individual income tax rate will rise to more than 46% and over 50% for those living in many states. This sharp increase in tax rates can be expected to reduce the size of the tax base and may raise substantially less revenue than the casual observer might think—perhaps only 60 cents on the dollar. In Tax Foundation Fiscal Fact No. 182, "The Economic Cost of High Tax Rates," Senior Fellow Robert Carroll explains that for every 1% decrease...

It seems almost certain at this point that whatever health reform legislation is ultimately enacted by Congress, its principal funding will come from a surtax on the top 1% or so of taxpayers. This is a very bad idea for reasons that have little to do with the economic effects of taxation. It's wrong in principle to enact a government program with broad benefits that is so narrowly funded. It ensures that the financing of health reform will be precarious and its political support will rest on a weak foundation. This will make it easier for a future conservative government...

A sweeping overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system to be announced on Tuesday in the U.S. House of Representatives will include a surtax on millionaires of 5.4 percent, congressional sources said. The tax rate is higher than the 3 percent surtax lawmakers had been discussing earlier and would be imposed on those making more than $1 million a year,

WASHINGTON – A plan to raise taxes on the wealthy is emerging as the leading option among House Democrats looking to finance health care legislation that President Barack Obama wants. Numerous officials say that under the proposal, an income tax surcharge would be imposed on individuals earning more than $200,000, with a higher threshold for couples. The same officials say earlier options under consideration have been abandoned. Among them was a proposal to raise the payroll tax that finances Medicare. The officials spoke anonymously to discuss private discussions.

<p>We've been waiting a long time for another Democrat to grab the mantle of tax reform the way Bill Bradley and Dick Gephardt did back in the 1980s, so we studied Wesley Clark's proposal on Monday with interest. The kindest thing we can say about it is that we sure hope the retired general knows more about war than he does about taxes.</p>