Taxpayers Have Already Paid Revenue Increases!
President Obama and the Democrats keep trying to shift the blame for seemingly endless economic misery from themselves to the very taxpayers who have delivered more revenue to the government than anyone thought was possible just a few months ago.
By now virtually every American has heard President Obama, the Democrats and the media chorus chanting:
Revenues must be part of any deal to reduce the deficit!
They say “revenues” because they don’t want to say “tax increase,” a term their pollsters tell them a majority of us oppose. They want “revenues” from various tax hikes that mostly would target businesses and business owners, thus adding to the burden on job creators.
But revenues can increase without tax increases and we have fabulous news for the President and the political establishment: As the chart shows taxpayers have already delivered your revenues!
Fiscal 2011 revenue is running 10% ahead of 2010. When the fiscal year ends in September total revenue will be up by about $233 Billion.
Obama and the Democrats have put a lot of energy into demands for tax increases on oil companies – that would result in higher gas prices – to generate, they claim, $5 billion in additional revenue over ten years. The President demands a change to the tax code’s depreciation schedule for corporate jets. Democrats say that would generate $2 billion over ten years.
They should be thrilled with an additional $233 billion this year!
What about those Bush tax cuts that established the income tax bracket rates that are still in effect?
In 2007 the Bush tax rates generated more income tax revenue than ever before. For the 2011 fiscal year Income tax revenue is running 28% above 2010 and is on track to break the 2007 record this year or next.
Corporate income tax revenue is up 5% from 2010.
Increases in individual income and corporate income tax revenues have more than offset a decrease from the Social Security payroll tax. Last December when Democrats still had commanding majorities in both the House and Senate Congress enacted a one year, temporary, payroll tax discount, cutting the rate paid by employees from 6.2% to 4.2%. The rate is scheduled to go back up in 2012 delivering even more revenues.
Considering the weak economy and high unemployment these revenue increases, already booked by the government, have been an unexpected windfall, and should have sparked joyous celebration among the ranks of big government progressives. Yet the President and Democrats remain grim, and continue to act profoundly aggrieved. One can only conclude that taxpayers could never produce enough revenue to satisfy them.
Bravo! Its about time someone brought out the truth. How can we get this onto NBC? CBS, Fox news?
This whole post is stupid, Republican gimmick. Of course tax revenue will rise as the recession ends. But tax revenue should rise every year by a lot more than it rose during the Bush years. It should rise because of population growth alone.
Government spending has to go up every year because of the rising cost of health care (soon this will be much less of problem thanks to the Affordable Care Act) and the aging of the Baby Boomers.
Also, we’re still up to our necks in the two Bush wars that were never paid for.
CUT MEDICAID FUNDING> IT IS FULL OF FRAUD AND WASTE DO NOT MAKE TAXPAYERS PAY FOR MORE ENTITLEMENT PROGRAMS
Is the GOP so rigid they cannot understand that perception of Tax Code Fairness is a different discussion than revenue generation? Can the GOP and TeaParty bend enough, be creative enough to address both? Doing so might save this country!
Just to start discussion, Instead of saying no tax rate increase, tell the Dems to raise taxes as high as they want! 1% tax increase for every 10% spending cuts. Let’m go wild!