The truth about rising gas prices, the stock market, & Warren Buffett's taxes

[hvactec]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQYy25kLijA]The truth about rising gas prices, the stock market, & Warren Buffett's taxes - YouTube[/ame]

 

[waltky]

Granny says tax `em anyway - dat'll be $31B the rest of us won't have to pay...

‘Buffett rule’ tax on rich would raise $31B: report
March 20, 2012 WASHINGTON — A bill designed to enact President Barack Obama’s plan for a “Buffett rule” tax on people earning more than $1 million a year would rake in just $31 billion over the next 11 years, according to an estimate by Congress’ official tax analysts obtained by The Associated Press.

That would be a drop in the bucket of the over $7 trillion in federal budget deficits projected during that period. The figure is also miniscule compared to the many hundreds of billions the government earns from the alternative minimum tax, which Obama’s budget last month said he would replace with the Buffett rule tax. The alternative minimum tax, originally aimed at ensuring that wealthy Americans pay taxes despite deductions and other breaks, has begun affecting upper middle-class families, and Congress acts every year to minimize its impact.

In an analysis provided to The AP on Tuesday, Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that a bill introduced last month by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., enshrining Obama’s proposal into law would collect $31 billion over the coming 11 years. Obama has proposed requiring that people earning at least $1 million annually pay at least 30 percent of their income in taxes. The plan is named for billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who has said that taxes on the wealthy are not high enough .

The proposal has become a leading symbol of Obama’s and congressional Democrats’ election-year efforts to persuade voters that they are the party championing economic fairness. Republicans have mocked it as one aimed at scoring political points that would have little real budgetary impact. “Now that we have this analysis, I hope the president will stop the class warfare and start leading by putting out real proposals to bring down our debt, get rid of the AMT and reform our broken tax code,” Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a written statement, using the alternative minimum tax’s acronym. Hatch’s Finance committee GOP aides requested the study.

Whitehouse said that other groups, including the respected bipartisan Tax Policy Center, have estimated that the proposal could earn more than $31 billion “No matter how you slice it, that’s real money that could help bring down our deficit. Most important: It’s simply the right thing to do,” he said in a statement. Whitehouse’s bill would require people making at least $2 million a year pay at least 30 percent of their earnings in taxes, though they could deduct certain amounts for their charitable contributions. The tax would be phased in for people earning at least $1 million annually. Obama has not spelled out details of how his proposal would work.

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Study: ‘Buffet Rule’ Wouldn’t Come Close to Obama’s Pledge to ‘Replace’ AMT
March 21, 2012 – President Barack Obama wants his so called “Buffett rule” to replace the unpopular Alternative Minimum Tax, but the AMT is projected to raise about 18 times more in federal revenue than the “Buffett Rule” could, according to the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation.

Obama has made the tax hike on high income earners – a proposal named for billionaire investor Warren Buffet who complains that he pays a lower tax rate than his secretary – a central theme of his fiscal year 2013 budget proposal and of his 2012 reelection campaign. Obama’s fiscal year 2013 budget proposal said, “And he is proposing that the Buffett rule should replace the Alternative Minimum Tax, which now burdens middle-class Americans rather than stopping the richest Americans from paying too little as was originally intended.”

The Obama budget proposal said, “No household making over $1 million annually should pay a smaller share of its income in taxes than middle-class families pay. As Warren Buffett has pointed out, his effective tax rate is lower than his secretary’s. And, the President is now specifically proposing that in observance of the Buffett rule, those making over $1 million should pay no less than 30 percent of their income in taxes. “The Administration will work to ensure that this rule is implemented in a way that is equitable, including not disadvantaging individuals who make large charitable contributions,” the proposal said.

Under the current tax code, the highest rate for investment income is 15 percent. The highest tax rate for wages is 35 percent. Thus, someone who makes low wage income, but is wealthy from investment income like Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, could pay a lower percentage in federal taxes than someone who earns less in wage income. Obama and Democrats in Congress also support letting the Bush tax cuts expire in 2013, which would increase the top income tax rate to 39.6 percent and 20 percent for capital gains taxes, as well as a 3.8 percent increase on net investment income.

The AMT was enacted in 1969, with the intent to target high-income earners subject to numerous exemptions under the Internal Revenue Code, in order to ensure that the wealthiest did not escape taxes regardless of available exemptions. But it was never adjusted for inflation and affects a larger number of taxpayers every year. As a political matter, it is generally adjusted annually to shield some middle-income earners.

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[waltky]

Obama gonna make dem rich folks pay their fair share o' taxes...

Obama's day: Even more on the Buffett Rule
Apr 12, 2012 - Good morning from The Oval, on what will be President Obama's third straight day of promoting the so-called "Buffett Rule."

After speeches on Tuesday and Wednesday, Obama gives interviews on the proposal to local television stations in four swing states: Columbus, Ohio; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; St. Louis, Mo.; and Reno, Nevada.

"The Buffett Rule is a simple principle for fairness that ensures that millionaires pay at least the same effective tax rate as middle class families pay," the White House says.

Those states also include Republican senators who oppose the plan as nothing more than an election year gimmick. The Republicans are likely to block the plan when it comes to a Senate vote on Monday.

In his television interviews, Obama may also be asked about the Trayvon Martin case; a USA TODAY team reports on the murder charges against George Zimmerman.

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Biden: 'Romney Rule' favors rich
Apr 12, 2012 - Vice President Joe Biden hits the campaign trail again today, comparing the Buffett Rule to what he calls "the (Mitt) Romney Rule" -- and arguing that the latter favors the wealthy over the middle class.

"The Buffett Rule says that multimillionaires should pay at least the same percentage of their income in taxes as middle-class families do," Biden plans to say, according to excerpts released by the White House. "The Romney Rule," Biden adds, "says the very wealthy should keep the tax cuts and loopholes they have, and get an additional, new tax cut every year that is worth more than what the average middle class family makes in an entire year."

Biden's lunch-time appearance in Exeter, N.H., comes as Obama gives interviews to local television stations promoting the "Buffett Rule." The proposal is named for billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who says he pays a lower percentage of taxes than his secretary.

It comes up for a vote next week in the Senate. Republicans are sure to block the measure, calling it little more than an election year gimmick. Romney, the likely Republican presidential nominee, says Obama's proposed tax increases and regulations will choke off economic recovery.

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