Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
Democrats are looking for new ways to
target economic inequality. They're introducing a plan to take away some of the tax breaks that help keep money in the hands of the very richest Americans and instead give a few tax breaks to working families:
The centerpiece of the proposal, set to be unveiled Monday by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), is a “paycheck bonus credit” that would shave $2,000 a year off the tax bills of couples earning less than $200,000. Other provisions would nearly triple the tax credit for child care and reward people who save at least $500 a year.
The windfall — about $1.2 trillion over a decade — would come directly from the pockets of Wall Street “high rollers” through a new fee on financial transactions, and from the top 1 percent of earners, who would lose billions of dollars in lucrative tax breaks.
The plan also would use the tax code to prod employers to boost wages, which have been stagnant for four decades despite gains in productivity and profits.
As the famous example of billionaire Warren Buffett paying a lower tax rate than his secretary shows, the tax code is a statement of government priorities. Right now, those priorities heavily favor Wall Street and the very rich. Democrats are proposing to make them a little more fair.
One interesting thing about this proposal (at least in the broad outlines we now have it) is that it presents Republicans with a real messaging challenge. The Republican priority is always tax cuts for the wealthy. But a serious proposal to sort of shift taxes upward makes it a choice: Who do you want to give a break, families earning less than $200,000 a year, or the top one percent? Republicans can't fall back on their traditional (false) messaging of "tax breaks good." Instead, it's "tax breaks for whom?"
Of course Republicans will never pass anything like this, but in a way, that's the point. Show voters what the choice is.