Comments on: Why Should We Care About Tax Breaks for the Wealthy?

By: Old Estate Tax Myths Never Die « Poverty & Policy

Old Estate Tax Myths Never Die « Poverty & Policy — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 11:02:35 +0000

[...] I noted earlier, Republicans in Congress have nevertheless insisted that the current version of the estate [...]

By: ladybuddha

ladybuddha — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 13:02:33 +0000

Hi, thanks for the share buttons! I noticed you added them, but didn’t realize you’d commented back! I’d say you can add Tumblr and G+, too.

By: Kathryn Baer

Kathryn Baer — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 16:30:36 +0000

I’ve added a couple of share buttons. Are there any others you think I should add?

By: Kathryn Baer

Kathryn Baer — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 14:50:21 +0000

Thank you for these details about our local tax structure, David. As I think you know, I’ve supported a more progressive system for a long time.

There’s a connection between our local structure and the federal tax cuts that are now at issue. Specifically, our EITC is linked to the federal credit. If, as the Republicans want, the federal EITC reverts to its pre-2009 limits, local tax burdens on low and moderate-income working families in the District will increase. See, http://bit.ly/NnU1vi

By: David Schwartzman

David Schwartzman — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 14:31:14 +0000

Thanks for this piece. And especially in DC we should care about the continued subsidization of wealthy residents because of our regressive local tax structure. The latest figures from ITEP show that the top 1% of families earning $3 million per year pay an effective rate of 6% of their income in DC taxes (sales, property and DC income tax) while the bottom 20% of families earning just over $10K per year pay 7%, with the working/middle class paying 9-10%. Most of the so-called Democrats on our Council, supported by our Mayor, have refused to make our local tax structure progressive by hiking the top 5% tax rate. Democrats? They act more like Republicans by refusing to take the lead of our President in pledging to repeal the Bush tax cuts for incomes over $250K. We could significantly reduce if not eliminate child poverty in DC if a modest tax hike were applied to our top 5%, with $100 millions of additional revenue accrued. Shame on our Mayor and Council!
And watch out, the head of new tax revision commission is Tony Williams, the local architect of “balancing the budget on the backs of the poor”. Tony is also the new CEO of the Federal City Council.

David Schwartzman
DC Statehood Green Party Candidate
U.S. Senate

By: ladybuddha

ladybuddha — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 11:05:07 +0000

Greetings. I enjoy reading your blog. Will you consider adding share buttons for social media?