Taxes: Income
The income tax has been the primary means of funding the federal government since 1913 when the 16th Amendment to the Constitution was adopted. It is a progressive tax on individual and corporate income, based on income levels. 43 states impose an income tax on individuals, while 47 states impose a tax on the income of corporations. Many municipalities and counties also levy income taxes on their residents.
Commentary
Cry Wolf Quotes
I protest against this betrayal of our ancient principals. I protest against this treason to our faith, to our platform, to our traditions, to our heroes. I protest against partial laws, whether they be intended to favor the few or the many. I demand for all men the same equality before the law which they enjoy in the sight of God….I demand now, as I have always demanded, one citizenship, one country, one law, one Democratic faith, one common plane of equality for all the people, without distinction of wealth, of birth, or race, or of creed!
Taxes will go up. The economy will sputter along. Dreams will be put off and all this for the hollow promise of deficit reduction and magical theories of lower interest rates. Like so many of the President's past promises, deficit reduction will be another cruel hoax. Tax revenues will lag because the economy will fall. Government spending will increase at least another $300 billion a year. And the deficit will reach another record high.
However Clinton wants to spin his tax plan, the bottom line is this: It will raise your taxes, increase the deficit, and kill over 1 million jobs.
He is smooth and he is slick and he is a great teleprompter performer, but regardless of how convincing the President may be, this bill is still tax-and-spend, pure and simple. It will not cut the deficit. It will not create jobs. And it will not cut spending. And no matter what you say, you are not going to be able to hide the tax increases in this bill from the American people come next April 15.
Related Laws and Rules
Evidence
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Millionaire Migration and State Taxation of Top Incomes: Evidence From A Natural Experiment
The rich did not flee New Jersey wen the state raised tax rates on top earners by 2.6 percentage points.
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Maryland Millionaires Vanish in the Face of Recession, Not Higher Taxes
Maryland's tax increases on the rich did not induce millionaire flight.
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Conservative Commentator Examines the History of Right-Wing Tax Cut Hypocrisy
Hard right-wingers fear-monger in the face of tax increases of both Republican and Democratic administations.
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Tax Cuts on the Rich Don't Spur Economic Growth
The Center for American Progress takes apart supply side myths.
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The Number of High-Income Taxpayers Increased Significantly During a Period With 10 Percent and 11 Percent Tax Rates on High-Income Earners
After California raised taxes on the rich, the number of residents in the affected tax brackets rose as well.
Backgrounders & Briefs
Taxes Not Seen as Making the Rich Flee New York
Almost everyone agrees that raising taxes on the rich does not induce mass upper-class migration.
Resources
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) is a think tank focused on tax and fiscal policy. They provide in-depth analysis of state issues.
Citizens for Tax Justice is an organization that represents low and middle income citizens in the tax debates on Capitol Hill.
