Soda pop, sales tax targeted to cut deficit

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Reuters

Warning of a "death spiral" without drastic changes, a group of experts on the U.S. federal budget deficit on Wednesday called for a 2011 Social Security tax holiday, a soft drink tax and government spending freezes.

In an ambitious plan to slash the deficit and the fast-mounting national debt, the group also called for a new 6.5 percent national sales tax, as well as lower and simpler individual income and corporate tax rates.

Former Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Alice Rivlin and former Republican Senator Pete Domenici -- both veterans of Washington's long-running deficit wars -- headed the 19-member group organized by the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank.

Domenici called the deficit "a quiet killer" undermining the economy and compared the effort required to vanquish it to the sacrifices made by Americans during World War II.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6AG31U20101117

[Roland99]

1. We'd increase revenues by adding back that add'l 3.5% to the top marginal tax rate

but we can't offend the wealthy now, can we?

I mean, all the homeless kids and families struggling paycheck-to-paycheck just need to get off their asses and make their lives better on their own! Stop be so fucking lazy you hard-working Americans!



Oh...and maybe lop 25% off the $1 trillion PER YEAR going to Defense.


:banghead:

[DJ13]

2. A sales tax would be onerous to the middle/lower classes

Typical DC approach, throw added tax burdens on the lower classes as a means of increasing revenue without directly increasing the taxes on the upper class.

Just raise the top income tax rates, and bring capital gains tax rates back in line with income taxes, then the revenue problem is solved without adding another tax on people who have had income erosion the last 30 years.

Its not rocket surgery.

[pdefalla]

23. Rocket Surgery?

LOL is that a Palin quote?

[DJ13]

24. No, I heard that long before Palin became a media made creation

[Vincardog]

3. How about this: We cut Military spending across the board by 20% except for personnel pay. We

institute an Alternative minimum tax of 20% of revenue or 10% of SALES on corporation with sales over $1M.
We eliminate the cap on Social security income and double the Social Security payout as well as lower the retirement age to 55.
We allow everyone to buy into Medicare NOW.
We make the congress live on Social Security retirement and Medicare for their health care.
Raise the inheritance tax to 90% of everything over $10M
Tax all financial transactions at 1%
Make any bonus/stock option over $100K be taxed as normal income and subject to SSI.

[davidinalameda]

14. taxing financial transactions is pretty much a non-starter

who wants to get charged to have their paycheck deposited in their ban

[Vincardog]

17. Make that STOCKs BONDs FUTURES and DERIVATIVES

[davidinalameda]

29. people who aren't rich buy stocks

especially people who have a 401K retirement fund

[Vincardog]

31. They pay commission they can afford an extra 1%

[bossy22]

19. raising the taxes on a coporations sales

will just raise the price of the good. Business never abosrbs new costs and ends up just pushing them to the lowly consumer

[Vincardog]

22. Let's give it a try, Why give up before we even START?

[glinda]

4. How about they tax booze.

[Retrograde]

10. I think they already do (n/t)

[truthisfreedom]

They might want to tax it more, and legalize and tax pot too.

[truthisfreedom]

13. They might want to tax it more, and legalize and tax pot too.

[happygoluckytoyou]

15. just legalize pot..... I WON'T WORRY ABOUT THE REST OF IT UNLESS YOU TAX CHEETOS

[glinda]

25. More tax on booze definitely.

[Newsjock]

5. Can we call it class warfare yet?

Jesus Christ on a trailer hitch, these people make me sick.

[rasputin1952]

6. Yeah, like when the R's during WWII did everything possible to undermine

FDR.

How does anyone trust these bastards...:wtf:

Want two ways to immediately stop the spiral, get out of the Middle East, let the bush tax cuts expire. Make the R's do the tough stuff and show the American people thay don't give a damn about anyone but their rich buddies. Let them introduce a tax policy...once people see that R's are incredibly incompetent, they might actually wake up and demand some things that will help the nation instead of destroy it.

Soda pop tax...people will just quit drinking the stuff in such large quantities...then what? Damn idiots...:grr:

[ProudDad]

7. Corporate States of America "solution" - regressive taxes and welfare for the already rich

shit :puke:

[bobbolink]

8. I'm so very pleased to know that you middleclass people will have lower income taxes, while we poor

people will be taxed proportionately higher in order to ease YOUR "burden" of the deficit.

This is one of those days I am soOOOO glad I am a democrat.

:puke:

[Capitalocracy]

9. Seriously, a VAT tax? Great f'ing plan, guys.

Yeah, you'll win a lot of elections if you keep pushing the tax burden downward when more and more people are becoming poor. Good job, Dems. Keep it up and maybe the big corporations will start donating more money to you than to the Republicans... just don't hold your breath while you wait. Or better yet, do.

[OlympicBrian]

11. Sensible tax proposals...

Steps and logic of choosing what to tax:

(1) Identify large, taxable revenue sources.
(2) Assess impact of taxing them.
(3) Keep an eye out for beneficial side-effects.

The first Debt Commission report only derives about 5% of the savings coming from increased general revenue. That plan is garbage. It fails (1) and (3).

This new plan proposes a national sales tax? That will hurt the poor. It's more garbage. It fails (2).

Now, starting over...

To begin with, the Bush tax cuts need to expire, period.

Then, the Debt Commission (or someone else) needs to start at square one, and provide the steps they skipped; the first of which is composing tables and graphs of projected revenues, based on existing (without the Bush cuts) federal marginal tax brackets plus a set of new brackets and rates for the ultra-rich, well beyond the current highest tax bracket--including the assumption of capital gains being treated as ordinary income.

Next, federal corporate income taxes need to be addressed--a surtax must be added for all profits derived from offshore foreign affiliates. This makes sense as it will be both lucrative, and have the side-effect of bringing jobs home.

Also, a financial transactions tax needs to be implemented--which will have the side-effect of limiting reckless market trading, and hence reign in trading which can lead to stock market crashes.

The above taxes all follow the three rules listed above.

[OlympicBrian]

28. HERE'S A LINK to their plan...

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bipartisan-policy-center-task-force-unveils-bold-comprehensive-plan-to-solve-debt-crisis-and-create-jobs-108683144.html

[Zenlitened]

12. What the hell does a "2011 Social Security tax holiday" have to do with...

... halting a deficit "death spiral"?

But hey, lower the income tax on the wealthy and on corporations, while slapping a sales tax on Joe and Jane Workingstiff.

Joe and Jane never really shared the "pleasure" of racking up the deficit, but they sure as hell will have a heapin' helping of the pain, huh?

:puke:

Credibility = Zero.

[zalinda]

16. So they are going to tax soda pop

but they subsidize corn growers who grow the corn which make up most of the cost of the HFCS that is in soda pop? Are they nuts? Why don't they just cut the subsidies and cut out the middle man?

zalinda

[pattmarty]

18. What, every fucking "expert" so far on the deficit wants to unjustly.......

..........and more importantly put all the pain on the middle and lower classes. A fucking national sales tax? Decreasing taxes on individual (read "wealthy") and corporations? Better go back and do some more figuring motherfuckers, because you ain't going to balance the budget on MY fucking SS and my goddamn back. The rich have gotten a super free ride through this recession and a real nice ride since the 80's when the tax rates were lowered ridiculously while military spending went through the roof. Your times up motherfuckers, now it's YOUR turn to pay.

[PSPS]

20. Sales taxes and "sin" taxes are the most regressive.

Let me guess. All the members of "the 19-member group organized by the Bipartisan Policy Center" are millionaires.

[Yo_Mama]

21. Regressive options will backfire

Really, personal income is probably dropping right now; wages are.

In this environment, regressive tax increases are going to deal the economy another death blow. Aside from the ethics of it (and I do dispute that this is ethical), the fact that it just won't work should close out the debate.

[OlympicBrian]

27. Your point seems obvious

But who in Washington is there to listen, except maybe Bernie Sanders?

[LiberalFighter]

26. First, I seriously doubt the think tank is that bi-partisan.

They want a Social Security tax holiday to fix the deficit?

If they are going to have a soft drink tax they should also have a coffee, tea, and cappuccino tax.


As for calling income and corporate taxes too complex. I call bullshit. If it is so complex for corporations then why is it so easy to avoid paying taxes? And individual income taxes are not that difficult to complete.

[sarcasmo]

30. Stop the war spending and the deficit will be fixed.

[neverforget]

32. As long as the wealthy aren't asked to sacrifice, I'm cool with it.

:sarcasm: This is what happens when the wealthy run government. Austerity and sacrifice for poor and middle classes and tax cuts for the wealthy.