An Ol' Broad's Ramblings

Get Out Your Calculator

14 February 2011, 8:17 pm. 4 Comments. Filed under Taxes, The ONE.

From ATR:

Under the Obama budget, tax revenues will grow from 14.4% of GDP in 2011 to 20% of GDP in 2021.  By comparison, the historical average is only 18% of GDP.

Tax hike lowlights include:

  • Raising the top marginal income tax rate (at which a majority of small business profits face taxation) from 35% to 39.6%.  This is a $709 billion/10 year tax hike
  • Raising the capital gains and dividends rate from 15% to 20%
  • Raising the death tax rate from 35% to 45% and lowering the death tax exemption amount from $5 million ($10 million for couples) to $3.5 million.  This is a $98 billion/ten year tax hike
  • Capping the value of itemized deductions at the 28% bracket rate.  This will effectively cut tax deductions for mortgage interest, charitable contributions, property taxes, state and local income or sales taxes, out-of-pocket medical expenses, and unreimbursed employee business expenses.  A new means-tested phaseout of itemized deductions limits them even more.  This is a $321 billion/ten year tax hike
  • New bank taxes totaling $33 billion over ten years
  • New international corporate tax hikes totaling $129 billion over ten years
  • New life insurance company taxes totaling $14 billion over ten years
  • Massive new taxes on energy, including LIFO repeal, Superfund, domestic energy manufacturing, and many others totaling $120 billion over ten years
  • Increasing unemployment payroll taxes by $15 billion over ten years
  • Taxing management capital gains in an investment partnership (“carried interest”) as ordinary income.  This is a tax hike of $15 billion over ten years
  • A giveaway to the trial lawyers—not letting companies deduct the cost of punitive damages from a lawsuit settlement.  This is a tax hike of $300 million over ten years
  • Increasing tax penalties, information reporting, and IRS information sharing.  This is a ten-year tax hike of $20 billion.

Add it all together, and this budget is a ten-year, $1.5 trillion tax hike over present law.

I keep hearing Obama is attempting to do a Clinton. Right. I mean….left….I mean… Well, he ain’t no Clinton, that’s for sure!

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4 Comments »

  1. drjim. 14 February 2011, 10:43 pm

    Never thought I’d live to see the day we had a communist in the White House!

  2. olbroad. 15 February 2011, 6:13 am

    Where is Joe McCarthy when ya need him!  sigh…

  3. Gary K.. 15 February 2011, 8:44 am

    Ahhhh yes, Obama’s new budget will freeze spending and lower some spending.

    But, not for his office.

    The folks at the Cato Institute looked into the budget and found that:
    spending for the Executive office of the President was INCREASED by 24%!!!!

    NO cuts or freezes for the Prez!!!  :)

  4. olbroad. 15 February 2011, 10:28 am

    Are you kidding?  They are having WAY too much flippin’ fun on OUR dime!  I’m thinking there should be a limited budget for the White House.  They wanna party more, THEY pay for it!  Plus all the trips, and security, etc.  Unless of course, I can have a high ol’ time and send THEM the bill.  Then, we can talk.  :?