“Let Our Tax Cuts Go” Why some wealthy Americans aren’t happy to see their tax cuts continued.

[EV_Ares]

In a compromise with Republican lawmakers, President Obama agreed to extend Bush-era tax cuts for wealthy Americans for another two years—breaking his 2008 campaign promise to repeal them.

In return, Republicans agreed to extend unemployment insurance, expand college tax credits, and reduce payroll taxes. Meanwhile, the continuation of tax cuts for Americans making over $250,000 a year will cost an estimated $60 billion a year and $700 billion over the next decade—a terrible misallocation of resources.

Among those disappointed by President Obama's decision are hundreds of wealthy Americans who will benefit directly from the continuation of the cuts—but who have spent months lobbying for them to be allowed to expire. They have signed public petitions, written op-eds, and called their representatives to explain their belief that top-earners have a responsibility to the common good.

Two organizations of wealthy individuals, Wealth for the Common Good and Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength, have over 100 public signers with annual incomes of over $1 million and more than 500 public signers with household incomes over $250,000 who want to see tax cuts for the wealthy expire as scheduled on December 31, 2010. They include a dozen Google execs, a Blackrock MD, Chairman Emeritus of the NY Mercantile Exchange, multiple Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, the co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, the founder of Ask.com, the CEO of Men’s Warehouse, the founder of the Princeton Review, and many others.

In their own words:
Warren Buffett, Nebraska: I think that people at the high end, people like myself, should be paying a lot more in taxes. We have it better than we've ever had it. The rich are always going to say that, you know, "Just give us more money, and we'll go out and spend more and then it will all trickle down to the rest of you." But that has not worked the last 10 years, and I hope the American public is catching on.

entire article & other wealthy comments @ link: http://www.yesmagazine.org/new-economy/let-our-tax-cuts-go

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[ck4829]

2. K&R

[ladjf]

3. It would be interesting to see just what percentage of the 2%

that make over $250,000 would vote to raise their taxes for America's sake. My guess is that there are more that would do that than is commonly assumed. What would it take to do that poll?

[kelly1mm]

4. If they feel they are not paying enough taxes they make a donation

to the US Treasury. Problem solved.

[Imajika]

5. I've always wondered why they don't..

If lets say, a quarter or a third of the wealthy think their taxes are too low, why are they not just sending in more to the US Treasury? There is even a fund set up to help pay down the debt - a fund which receives very little in the way of voluntary contributions each year.

So Warren Buffet thinks his taxes are too low, I wonder how much extra he will be sending in?

Now, I do think we should fairly drastically raise taxes on those most able to pay, but I don't trust these people or stories about the rich wanting to pay more. Sure, maybe a handful do, but I don't think it is very many and I suspect the ones that do say they want higher taxes on themselves just do it for good media coverage.

[walldude]

6. But they are a small minority.. you are going to need to force

most people to pay their share...

[kelly1mm]

7. But that is a different issue all together, one which I agree with you

needs to be done. However, I find it hypocritical for those who say "raise my taxes, they are not high enough" when they are perfectly capable of paying more to the US Treasury right now but do not. They at least should be honest and say that they want all economically similarly situated people to pay more taxes as well as themselves.