Tax Justice

From the Washington Post's Greg Sargent:

New Washington Post/ABC News polling released this morning is unequivocal: There is strong across the board support for Obama’s policy preferences on the deficit.

Marist has a new poll looking at attitudes toward deficit reduction strategies on the table in Washington, summed up quite well by The Hill: "Raise taxes on wealthy, leave Medicare, Medicaid alone."

[F]ully four in five registered voters oppose cutting Medicare and Medicaid. The House GOP’s fiscal 2012 budget, largely crafted by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), makes fundamental long-term changes to both health entitlement programs, converting Medicaid into a block grant and turning Medicare into a type of voucher system. 

Democrats (92 percent), Republicans (73 percent) and independents (75 percent) all opposed cuts to the two programs, the McClatchy-Marist poll found.

Here's a breakdown of responses about cutting Medicare and Medicaid, and to increasing taxes on income over $250,000, as posted by Slate's Dave Weigel.

A broad coalition of progressive organizations staged rallies around the country yesterday to protest the manifestly unfair tax system that allows some corporations to escape their tax responsibilities entirely.  Events similar to ones in Missouri took place all over the country targeting “The Deadbeat Dozen”—GE, Bank of America, Google, BP, Amazon, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Boeing, ExxonMobil, FedEx, Goldman Sachs, Chase—wealthy corporations that are doing everything in their power to avoid paying taxes in America.

KTVI had a good story on the St. Louis action last night.

Amy Blouin of the Missouri Budget Project has a good op-ed in The Beacon today about what a "Fair Tax" might actually look in Missouri.  Check it out.

By their own admission, proponents of replacing the state income and corporate earnings taxes with new and higher sales taxes will have to jack up the sales tax by far more than the previously promised.

At a legislative hearing today, Rep. Ed Robb (R-Columbia) acknowledged that the so-called "Fair Tax" would actually increase sales taxes by at least twice what he'd estimated, from the current 4.225% to at least 6-6.2%.  And even that seems low, as the Missouri Budget Project estimates that this huge change in state tax policy would require sales taxes closer to 11% just to break even.  

Lt. Governor Peter Kinder, Senate President Charlie Shields and Speaker Ron Richard held a joint press conference at noon today to unveil an amazing new plan for Missouri's families.  Specifically, they don't like reproductive rights, they like guns and they don't like taxes.  Shocking stuff, I know.

But interestingly, the leaders' bold promise to not raise taxes seemed a little squishy when reporters asked the Speaker a few questions.  They may or may not junk the state's income tax and replace it with a sales tax, which would increase the tax burden on middle-class families.  And they might create brand new sales taxes for internet purchases. 

Lt. Governor Peter Kinder, Senate President Charlie Shields and Speaker Ron Richard held a joint press conference at noon today to unveil an amazing new plan for Missouri's families.  Specifically, they don't like reproductive rights, they like guns and they don't like taxes.  Shocking stuff, I know.

But interestingly, the leaders' bold promise to not raise taxes seemed a little squishy when reporters asked the Speaker a few questions.  They may or may not junk the state's income tax and replace it with a sales tax, which would increase the tax burden on middle-class families.  And they might create brand new sales taxes for internet purchases. 

Yesterday, the House voted 225-200 to permanently extend the estate tax at its 2009 level -- 45% for estates valued at more than $3.5 million, or $7 million for a couple.  As part of the 2001 Bush administration tax cuts for the wealthiest 5% of taxpayers, the estate tax gradually decreased and was set to disappear for all of 2010, only to come back in 2011 at a 55% rate for estates worth more than $1 million. Media Matters:

Rep. Earl Pomeroy's (D-ND) H.R. 4154, the Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers, and Small Businesses Act of 2009, which passed the House today, will fix the problem by making the estate tax permanent at 45% and raising the exemption to $3.5 million.  According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, H.R. 4154 is actually a $233.6 billion tax cut.  Republicans, who want to entirely abolish the estate tax, must choose between supporting a Democratic tax cut or having rates rise in 2011. 

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy has released a new study arguing that MIssouri's state taxes hit poor and middle class Missourians far harder than the wealthy.

Low- and middle-income families in Missouri pay a far higher share of their income in state and local taxes than the richest families in Missouri, according to a new study by the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy...

When all Missouri taxes are totaled up, the study found that:

• Missouri families earning less than $17,000 -- the poorest fifth of Missouri’s non-elderly taxpayers -- pay 9.6 percent of their income in state and local taxes.
• Middle-income Missouri taxpayers -- those earning between $31,000 and $50,000 -- pay 9.5 percent of their income in Missouri state and local taxes.
• But the richest Missouri taxpayers -- with average incomes of $1,170,600 -- pay only 6.6percent of their income in Missouri state and local taxes.