Obama taxes to target rich
TAX HIKES amounting to an extra $1.5 trillion (£950bn) over the next decade were proposed yesterday by President Barack Obama.
He called for increased taxes on capital gains and dividends, as well as a “Buffett rule” to increase taxes on households earning over $1m per year.
Bush-era tax breaks will be allowed to expire, hitting those earning over $250,000, and the maximum rate of income tax will rise to almost 40 per cent in 2013, from 35 per cent now.
“We built this budget around the idea that our country has always done best when everyone gets a fair shot,” Obama said. “It rejects the ‘you’re on your own’ economics that have led to a widening gap between the richest and poorest Americans.”
Although the plan includes $4 trillion in spending cuts, it also requests $800bn more spending on public sector workers and infrastructure, and would still let the national debt grow by $6 trillion over the next decade.
However, the plan has little chance of making it through Congress or the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
“This proposal isn’t really a budget at all. It’s a campaign document,” said leading Republican Mitch McConnell. “It’s bad for job creation and it will make the economy worse.”