Obama tax plan raises taxes on rich above Clinton rates by phasing out exemptions.

[dkf]

These are the projections:

Married 50k..0 now, 2900 if it lapses, 0 under Obama plan
Married 325k..63,600 now, 71,000 with lapse, 69,000 under Obama
Married 1,000,000..236,000 now, 289,000 with lapse, 292,000 under Obama
Married 5,000,000..1,320,200 now, 1,596,600 with lapse, 1,645,800 under Obama.

Numbers via CNBC but I didn't catch who did the analysis.

[Scuba]

1. Tax and tax and tax them until they're only "fabulously wealthy".

[napi21]

2. For years I've been saying we should reduce taxes on everyone BUT

eliminate all deductions except the personal exemptions for the taxpayer & their dependants. Not only would that eliminate the game playing and cheating, it wouldmake filing your taxes a 5 minute job AT MOST!

[dkf]

4. That would certainly take all the shenanigans out of the tax process.

[The Magistrate]

3. If True, Ma'am, Excellent News! NO TAX CUTS FOR BILLIONAIRES!!!!

Republicans want to jack you to see to it your kids pay billionaires millions of dollars for the rest of their lives!

[ProgressiveEconomist]

5. LINKS--Are you lumping together "personal income tax exemptions" and "itemized

deductions"? Or are you talking about "estate tax exemptions"?

IIRC "personal income tax exemptions" do not vary much with income--they never get above the same flat few thousand dollars per family member for every filer of a 1040 or 1040a up to a certain amount of AGI, and then they decline toward $2400 per family member. (See http://www.1040.com/site/FederalTaxes/TaxFilingBasics/PersonalExemptions/tabid/191/Default.aspx ).

From the much larger amounts in your OP, I surmise the CNBC piece you saw combined the effects of TWO new Obama phaseout schedules--"PEP" and "Pease":

From http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/obamas-economic-proposals-fall-on-skeptical-ears-910098.html

"Under Obama�s plan to let the tax cuts for the wealthy expire, the top two tax brackets „ currently 33 percent and 35 percent, would return to 36 percent and 39.6 percent, respectively. The 15 percent tax rate for high-income people on capital gains and dividends would rise to 20 percent.

And persons with high annual incomes could see their effective tax brackets rise even further, thanks to the reinstatement of 'PEP' and 'Pease,' two provisions that were repealed for 2010. 'PEP,' the Personal Exemption Phase-out, rescinds the personal exemption for taxpayers who earn more than a certain amount. 'Pease'-- named after Rep. Donald Pease (D-Ohio)-- phases out most claimed itemized deductions, such as mortgage interest, charitable gifts, and state and local taxes. The reinstatement of these provisions next year could wind up effectively pushing tax brackets beyond the maximum 39.6 percent.

Nevertheless, even if the Bush tax cuts lapse for the wealthy exclusively, Williams says, a portion of their income will be taxed at lower rates than before the Bush tax cuts. ... Also, the anticipated 20 percent tax on dividends may not be as hefty as the tax prior to the Bush tax cuts. At that time, dividends often were taxed as ordinary income-- as high as 39.6 percent.

[dkf]

6. I am guessing they are talking about itemized deductions.

They asked Goolsbee about it and he didn't know the details.

I think the numbers were run by one of the accounting firms and there was no mention of the estate tax.

[BlueCheese]

7. Are there children involved in any of these?

I'd think that a married couple earning $50K would pay some taxes otherwise.

[dkf]

8. Probably.

They probably took sampling of their clients to get to the typical circumstance. I wish I had noted who did the study.

[Radical Activist]

9. Nice!

[sufrommich]

10. Good. nt

[Fire1]

11. GOOD!! Fuck em!! n/t

[kentuck]

12. That's good, right?

??

[dkf]

13. I knew it would make the crew happy...

I'm just wondering what the longer term strategy is for taxes. I don't see how any of this is sustainable in the long term under these rates.