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Tax Hikes Will Slow Growth, Kill Jobs--But Won't Reduce the Debt

Tax increases are not the way to combat the deficit

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Targeted tax breaks, like those proposed in the President’s jobs plan, are problematic in that they are essentially government spending dressed up as tax reform. Such breaks will not likely stimulate the economy because they are too complex and complicated for (mostly small to mid-size) businesses to follow and adhere to ().

As Howard Gleckman of the Tax Policy Center points out, these tax breaks fail the duck test: Specifically, that “if it looks like spending and quacks like spending, it is spending– even it resides in the Internal Revenue Code.”

Americans deserve full scale tax reform, not a tax code replete with special-interest tax breaks.

James of NJ 4:13PM July 31, 2012

The most sensible thing Congress can do is reform the tax code according to the guidelines of the Bowles-Simpson plan. By doing this, Republicans will be able to have their cake and Democrats can eat it too.

While Bowles-Simpson tax reform would make the Bush tax cuts permanent (which Republicans want), it would also raise revenue through the tax code to help pay down the deficit (which Democrats want). http://bit.ly/IMk4M0

David @ Engage America of NY 3:17PM July 31, 2012

Bush's Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002 and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 all were passed and these acts decreased all tax rates, reduced the capital gains tax, increased the child tax credit and eliminated the marriage penalty. This plus the 2 wars has increased the U.S. national debt significantly from that point until now.

The huge debt that was created needs to be brought down and money is needed to help people who are suffering so much from this recession. The rich will do just fine. Let the damn tax cuts expire especially for the rich. We have been going downhill since they were enacted. If they expire maybe things will improve. It is time to try something else like letting the tax go back to where they were. It is obvious that lowering taxes only made things worse

Steve Brown of CA 9:18AM July 31, 2012

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