Republican Opposes Obama’s Tax Cuts For Billionaires
Senator George Voinovich is no liberal. Over the last two years, he’s managed to earn only a 15 out of 100 progressive legislative score in our legislative scorecard system. Yet, Voinovich has found common ground with liberals when it comes to one piece of legislation: H.R. 4853, the so-called Middle Class Tax Relief Act, which provides the biggest financial rewards to millionaires and billionaires.
Explaining his votes in opposition to the legislation, Voinovich said yesterday, “It is time for us to do what needs to be done to fix our country’s looming fiscal crisis. So I would like to say to my colleagues that when we vote on the Obama bipartisan tax fix, my vote will be NO. I’m not for any of the compromises. I am not for borrowing another $800 billion dollars from China, Saudi Arabia, and other countries.”
H.R. 4853 would provide a short-term economic stimulus, but would also create a larger, long-term economic drag. That’s because all the temporary savings people get over the next couple of years as a result of short-term tax cuts will have to be repaid – with interest added.
Where’s that money going to come from? It’s not going to be raised in a bake sale. It’s going to be gathered through higher taxes, not long from now.
For Senator Voinovich, however, there is no “not long from now”. Voinovich will be retiring from the United States Senate this year, never to return. So, he urges Congress to vote against the deal between Barack Obama and the Republicans to cut taxes for billionaires and the wealthy heirs of vast estates.
“It’s time to stop kicking the can down the road and let these tax provisions expire and, as a result, force Congress and the President to make the tough choices about not only these taxes, but the entire tax and entitlement crisis facing our country,” Voinovich says. Voinovich’s retirement places him in the position to say such refreshingly honest things. The retiring politician has no reason to go along with the standard Republican pretense that tax cuts and fiscal responsibility are politically compatible goals.
Income taxes on the wealthy are the ultimate sin tax-you’re only taxed on what you keep, not what you give. Jesus said it’s hard to get into heaven if you’re rich. He said to be His disciple we should renounce all our possessions. The wealthy are free to earn all they can of course. What they earn is only taxed more if they choose to keep it instead of give it.
If they choose to keep more than $250,000 for themselves, then they get taxed more. If they make $10 million and give all but $200,000 to charity, what they give isn’t counted as income anyway. They can deduct what they give.
Just wanted to introduce the thought of taxing excessive income that is kept could be a sin tax…. I don’t know where I fall on this logic..but I think it’s worth debate.