Digging in to the Obama tax plan
Now that the election is over, it's time to get down to specifics. Host Scott Jagow asks Marketplace's Washington Bureau Chief John Dimsdale about the details of President-elect Obama's tax plan.
Tax form with pencil pointing to "Amount you owe" (taxextension.info)
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From New York, NY, 11/10/2008
So on the show I think your guest said that under Obama's plan, someone making $9,000,000 would pay $800,000 more in taxes?
But isn't he only raising the highest narginal tax rate from 33% to 39.6% and therefore it would be less than $590,000?
11/10/2008
Following an historic election, let's take a moment to examine just what an Obama presidency will mean to the United States - what we have to look forward to, and how he will deal with our current economic issues. According Jim Davidson, some of the numbers just don’t add up:
"One of Obama’s specific proposals is to raise the capital gains and dividend taxes to 25%, which will sharply increase capital confiscation as increasing percentages of “gains” will reflect inflationary depreciation of the currency. In the U.S., an investor must pay tax on the difference between the sales price of an asset and it purchase price, with no adjustment for inflation. Consequently, when the tax rate and inflation are high, a large portion of the “capital gain” is illusory. Any asset that appreciates by less than the rate of inflation will result in its owner losing purchasing power and having to pay taxes on the illusory gains. At Obama’s higher tax rates, (he has suggested that capital gains and dividend taxes should be hiked to as much as 25%,) capital confiscation would result from modest levels of inflation.
And the Great Credit Crunch implies that inflation will be far higher than in recent experience.
Setting aside whether it is moral or equitable to force a small fraction of the population to essentially pay for the whole cost of government, much of which entails the shuffling of checks to purchase votes of various aggrieved groups, there is a bigger question. Can it be wise for the whole fiscal regime to stand on the shoulders of a small group, like a pyramid tottering on its point, so that any tribulation which undermines the prosperity of those who pay would promise to bankrupt the state?"
The Danger Lurking Behind Obama’s Tax Policy
http://www.contrarianprofits.com/articles/the-danger-lurking-behind-obamas-tax-policy/7994
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