Jeb! tax proposal could grow the national debt by $3.4 trillion ... sound familiar?

THU SEP 10, 2015 AT 08:32 AM PDT
Kerry Eleveld


Jeb! unveiled his tax proposal Wednesday and, for a millisecond, it looked like he might "close loopholes" and "raise taxes" (gulp) on rich people (gasp).

Conservative anti-tax activists were worried by his suggestion that “carried interest” — the profits that fund managers get from investing other people’s money — should be taxed at a higher rate, like ordinary income.

“No Republican should be for higher taxes on capital gains,” said Ryan Ellis, tax policy director at Americans for Tax Reform.

Just relax. Breathe. It's all an election-year illusion. Jeb! found plenty of ways to negate all that stuff that could have led to increased revenues for the federal government.

The effect of Mr. Bush’s proposals on the wealthy would be muted by his proposal to cut the number of individual tax brackets from seven to three, taxing income at 28 percent, 25 percent and 10 percent. Currently, the top marginal income tax rate is 39.6 percent. His proposals would double the standard tax deduction that most filers take, end what Republicans call the “death tax” on estates of the deceased and seek to make marriage more beneficial for tax purposes.

Phew. As suspected, it's all just another bad lesson in supply-side economics, where more money in the pockets (especially) of rich people is supposed to "grow" the economy. But the Washington Post reports that the lost revenue really means this:

It is projected to grow federal budget deficits in the same manner as the tax policies of the last Republican president, Bush’s brother, George W. Bush. [...] By Bush’s advisers’ estimates, it would add between $1.2 trillion and $3.4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, depending on how much additional economic activity is spurred by the plan.

OK, now that's more like it. Anyone want a reminder of what happened under W's tax policies and wars?

Read more
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/09/10/1419935/-Jeb-tax-proposal-could-grow-the-national-debt-by-3-4-trillion-sound-familiar