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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe obvious answer Romney won't give on his tax plan
By Jonathan Bernstein
The Tax Policy Center came out with a report yesterday confirming its earlier study: Mitt Romneys tax plan is either impossible or would raise taxes on middle-class taxpayers.
Once again, thats because the specific commitments Romney has made just dont add up. Remember, Romney has called for revenue-neutral tax reform that would cut rates by 20 percent while retaining and, in some cases, adding to current expenditures that he counts as incentives for saving and investment and eliminating the estate and alternate minimum taxes. The problem is that there just arent enough deductions, exclusions and credits remaining to make up the revenue lost just from the rich.
Whats striking about all of this is that theres a perfectly reasonable out for Romney that he hasnt taken and that I suspect he wont take no matter how hard hes pressed. All he has to do is to say that his top priority is to make sure that no one below a certain income level would pay more in his plan and that to make that work he would be flexible in his other goals.
In particular, he could say that if his plan doesnt add up while cutting rates by 20 percent, then he would cut the rates by a smaller amount to make it all work out.
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The obvious conclusion is that the priorities in his plan are the specific rate cuts and tax advantages for upper-income filers. They are not about protecting the middle-class, and they certainly are not revenue neutrality. Indeed, the obvious conclusion is that those are the ultimate priorities for the Republican Party, and Romney has the nomination only on the condition that he will back massive tax cuts for the rich. The same condition, that is, that got George W. Bush the nomination.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/the-obvious-answer-romney-wont-give-on-his-tax-plan/2012/08/17/1b97abe6-e87b-11e1-9739-eef99c5fb285_blog.html
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)is that the rich needs more money so they can do their jobs but it is evil for the government to need more money to do its job
n2doc
(47,953 posts)They would be very happy with a government that simply consisted of the military, Federal reserve (to loot) IRS (to take money from poor people) and Courts (to put troublemakers in jail). All regulations, education, science, safety net, etc., are of no use to them, as they can simply buy safe food/water and pay for their own retirement/health care.