House Republicans this week plan to vote on a bill that would extend all of the Bush tax cuts, including those on income in excess of $250,000. A new analysis shows that the Republican plan will raise taxes on roughly 24 million people— due to its allowing various credits, including the Child Tax Credit, to expire — while maintaining Bush’s tax cut for two million wealthy Americans.
The Bush tax cuts delivered the weakest job growth of the post-war period, as well as a ballooning federal debt. And according to a new report from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, the price tag of that weak growth was more than $1 million in tax breaks for the average millionaire over the last nine years:
– If one adds up the average tax cuts that households with incomes between $200,000 and $500,000 received in each of the last nine years, the total exceeds $74,000.
– The sum of the average annual tax cuts delivered to households with incomes between $500,000 and $1 million exceeds $189,000 over the last nine years.
– The sum of the average annual tax cuts delivered to households with incomes over $1 million in each of the last nine years exceeds $1.1 million. The average tax cut these individuals received was more than $110,000 in each of these years.
As the CBPP put it, “these figures illuminate the priorities reflected in the Bush tax cuts at a time when income inequality has already grown markedly and the nation faces unsustainable budget deficits after the economy recovers.” Not only have Republicans decided that continuing these tax cuts is the better part of wisdom, but House Republicans have written legislation to fast-track more tax cuts for the rich.
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