Wyden, Emanuel Join Forces for Middle Class Tax Relief

[Flabbergasted]

Wyden, Emanuel Join Forces for Middle Class Tax Relief
and “Simpler, Flatter, Fairer” Tax Plan
Bicameral legislation treats income from work and wealth equally,
ends tax breaks that have shifted burden onto middle-class Americans

December 15, 2005

Washington, DC – At a press conference today, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and U.S. Representative Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) touted their comprehensive, bicameral tax reform legislation that contains major tax relief for America’s middle class as it makes the U.S. income tax code simpler, flatter and fairer. Wyden introduced the “Fair, Flat Tax Act of 2005” in the Senate in October; Emanuel announced plans today to introduce companion legislation in the House of Representatives. Specifically, the legislation allows every taxpayer to file taxes on a simplified, one-page 1040 form, collapses individual tax brackets from the current six down to three, and sets one flat corporate rate. It also ends the Alternative Minimum Tax for personal income taxes, and allows federal taxpayers who do not itemize to receive a tax break for state and local taxes. Ending a number of corporate tax preferences also allows the legislation to reduce the deficit by approximately $100 billion over the next five years.



(I'm having trouble sorting this out. Do you'll agree with this or not?)

http://wyden.senate.gov/media/2005/12152005_wyden_emanuel_tax_plan.html

[Warpy]

1. A flat tax is not a fair tax

since it cuts into subsistence income at the bottom. A simplified tax will never happen. The system we have now is a result of Reagan's "flatter, fairer tax, so simple you can send it in on a postcard." There is no way to keep Congress from tinkering with every plan. Reagan's plan was tinkered with to shove more of the burden onto the backs of those who could least afford it while affording the rich and the corporate a free ride, thanks to sweetheart deductions. That is going to happen again. You can bet the rent on it.

Second, ending the AMT is simply not the answer. Insituting an income floor, say $100,000/year, below which it would not apply and tying that floor to inflation would be a good start. However, abolishing it would ensure that the sweetheart deductions mentioned above would cause the rich and the corporate to pay NO taxes, instead of the AMT.

As usual, the GOP is looking for simple solutions to appeal to simpletons, and they simply won't work. Finanacing a country is a messy and complicated business and will please no one. Given the way the rich and the corporate are screaming about their taxes now (and they have the best deal they've pretty much ever had), perhaps it's time to give them something to scream about and return to the graduated, progressive income tax. That one IS fair to working people, something no GOP or libertarian scheme has ever been or will ever be.

[oscar111]

2. Gen wes Clark in last election"shift all offf mid class to rich"

like it was until WW2.

so, that would surely simplify taxes, eh? After that, end sales taxes and use the new pattern of income tax to handle that.

[Mass]

3. As he said, middle class.

This reform does nothing for those who are at the bottom of the scale and pay little or no taxes. However, those are the ones who need the most help and those are the ones who, if they were helped, would help the economy.

We dont need to have less brackets. We need to move the brackets toward the top (make sure that people with very low income do not pay income tax) and increase taxes for the highest brackets.

You could, however, simplify the 1040 tax form. It is ridiculously difficult.

As for tax preferences, the issue is not to end them, it is to trigger them appropriately. Give tax cuts to those who create jobs in this country, end frivolous tax cuts that have proven to be useless.

[papau]

4. Wyden does too little ($20 B reduction in deficit) -But a true "flat tax"

must tax income investment income at the same rate as wages and this does not do that, and it thus hurts the Democratic attempt to get a fair tax.( I base this on Wyden's "improving savings " claim of last October - but I note the current "treats income from wealth wages equally" would imply investment income including capital gains goes to 100 cents on the dollar - guess I need to read the current version - until then - assuming investment income is not treated the same, we go on :-) )

I do not buy the idea that wealth creation (and job creation) is inhibited when the rich do not have enough of an increase in wealth. Wealth/job creation has more to do with creating a broad base of demand than by making sure rich people have enough money.

Wyden claims that his Fair Flat Tax Act of 2005 adapts the flat tax idea to provide a major "middle-class tax break" while helping to reduce the deficit through fewer exclusions, exemptions, deductions, deferrals, credits and special rates for certain individuals, businesses and activities, and through the setting of a single, flat corporate rate of 35 percent, while on the individual side, it ends "favoritism" for itemizers while improving deductions across the board: the standard deduction would be tripled for single filers from $5,000 to $15,000 and raised from $10,000 to $30,000 for married couples.

On the "good side" we get a dramatically shortened, one-page 1040 that takes the current 6 individual rates and keeps only 3 - 15 percent, 25 percent and 35 percent, and income from all sources (other than investment) would be taxed the same.

Wyden keeps the home mortgage interest and charitable contributions deductions, and the credits for children, education and earned income - while he eliminates the individual Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT.

But until he treats investment income the same as wages, and gets off the idiot GOP soapbox assertion that not taxing the rich by not taxing savings will increase savings which is more important than having a fair tax where the rich pay a fair share -WYDEN IS A LOSER!

BUT IF HE IS TAXING INVESTMENT INCOME AND WAGES EQUALLY - WYDEN IN A WINNER!

Perhaps, it is time to bring back the Roman Empire's asset tax.

[papau]

6. I love Wyden's flat tax! - The WashPo story below says he taxes wages &

investmenrs at the same rate.

:-)


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/16/AR2005111601880.html

[Donna Zen]

5. Opening the door

...to let in the republicans. Everytime they do this, open the door, we get fucked over. Shift the burden to bottom and keep those fundraisers going. No one is representing the average American in congress. No one.

[Flabbergasted]

7. This is my "Democratic" congressmen in Oregon

I think its slipped under the radar here but this is a Repub in demo clothes like Lieberman.

[papau]

8. I saw his support for killing the estate tax - but still treating wages &

investments equally is a great step in the right direction.

[Donna Zen]

11. Again, opening the door...

Once the door is opened the republicans (and their helper elves) will be stepping in to dump the investments out of the mix. Then when amendment after amendment gets added, after all the fancy "we're looking out for the average American speeches, after all the lonely voices object to the screw job but get shouted down, after all of that, the republicans will say: oh my ain't we the bi-partisan hoopla tax and screwers?


Democrats stand for a progressive tax code PERIOD. Those who have more pay more...no matter what K-Street says.

[anitar1]

9. There are a couple of Repugs who have been pushing this

for 2 yrs or so. One of them is a talk show wanna be Limbaugh , who broadcasts from NYC. He is also an attorney. His henchman is a congressman from the midwest. I am so sorry I cannot think of their names but will look for info in my files. This is nothing new at all and it sounds lie Wyden and Emmanuel have joined ranks with them . I have never really trusted Wyden. He is my Senator but I try to keep tabs on his voting record and he has made some choices that are not in Dems interest. Emmanuel, I don't really know. This flat tax con is just that , IMO, another con by some greedy guys. I think there was something about it a few months ago on DU.This will only benefit the haves. I did see a breakdown of this some time ago. Wyden definitely is someone who wants to be a have imo. Can,t speak for Emmanuel.

[anitar1]

10. I have found the names of the authors of The Fair Tax Book.

They are Neil Boortz , NYC RW talk show host and John Linder, A repug congressman from Georgia. A friend in Minn. alerted me to their book a yr ago. She knows Linder and doesn't think much of him.

[papau]

12. The "Fair Tax" is a bit different - a sales tax that avoids investment

Taxation totally.

The liar Neal Boortz with Congressman John Linder leading the charge want to replace the federal income tax and withholding system (but not including Social Security withholding with its wage cap) with a "simple 23 percent retail sales tax on new goods and services" where the 23% is a con job and the actual math shows he is using a 30% sales tax (his 23 is the result of deviding 30 by 139 where 130 is the final cost after tax to purchase, making the portion of the purchase that is tax 23% - no sales tax is ever expressed this way) - and once you run the numbers to match to the spending under Bush you are talking about a sales tax of between 50 and 100% depending on exceptions and the specifics of the calculation of the percentage.