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Fact Check: Bass Defends Tax Cuts for the Wealthy

by: William Tucker

Tue Oct 19, 2010 at 16:11:29 PM EDT

Charlie Bass claims letting the Bush-era tax cuts expire for high income households would hurt small businesses. Bass is wrong.

Bass defended extending the tax cuts for high-income households last Friday during an appearance on New Hampshire Public Radio.

“I think there is data … that indicates there are a significant number of small businesses in New Hampshire, lots of small businesses, that would be affected by this,” Bass said.

William G. Gale, Brookings Institution senior fellow and co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center:

If, as proposed, the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire for the highest earners, the vast majority of small businesses will be unaffected. Less than 2 percent of tax returns reporting small-business income are filed by taxpayers in the top two income brackets.

If the objective is to help small businesses, continuing the Bush tax cuts on high-income taxpayers isn't the way to go -- it would miss more than 98 percent of small-business owners and would primarily help people who don't make most of their money off those businesses.

Cross-posted to Miscellany Blue
William Tucker :: Fact Check: Bass Defends Tax Cuts for the Wealthy
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Fact Check: Bass Defends Tax Cuts for the Wealthy | 5 comments
Clarify, anyone? (0.00 / 0)
I heard, forgot where, that the expiring Bush tax cut is on income. And so, is related to profit taken out of a small business.

When defending small businesses, are we defending the above water operations of a business or the cream being skimmed off the top?

Business stuff is a weak point for me. But I tend to think Democrats are offering tax relief to incentivize further growing of operations and fiscal health of small business. Logic being, more people will be working and the economy will be stimulated. Sure, the business owner should certainly draw a check.

Can someone clarify this for me? I'm wondering if the Bush tax relief actually incentivizes business owners to draw down the wealth of their business, instead of folding it back in.



www.KusterforCongress.com - www.paulhodesforsenate.com

www.nikitsongas.com - www.devalpatrick.com

I'm not an expert either (4.00 / 1)
but if we keep the tax cuts for income under $250K, then those whose income is over $250K would still get the tax breaks, and only pay a higher rate on the income over $250K, and that might not be going up very much.  Remember that tax rates on the highest income bracket after WWII were around 90%.  I think the figure is around 39% in this case, up from 33%?  Someone correct me if I am wrong.

Most business owners take a salary from profits, and don't forget that profit is receipts minus expenses, which include payrolls, rent, equipment, etc.  Only 2-3% of so-called small businesses pay their owners over $250,000 a year in actual taxable income.  So Charlie Bass is not correct when he thinks this will impact very many small business owners in NH.  What is keeping businesses from expanding is lack of demand.  You gotta have customers with money to sell to.  We need to give the middle-class, which really came into existence after WWII and became the driver of the economic expansion that was the envy of the world, some money to spend.  All those consumers having enough money in their pockets to buy cars and houses and appliances and send their kids to college, etc., made the America we think of.  But that has faded away as the big business interests have taken over the government to a great extent.  They think they don't need the middle class, they can sell to each other and overseas.  I guess.  Not sure how long it will last.  Scary.

[ Parent ]
Not what you mean to say-- (0.00 / 0)
Charlie Bass  claims extending the Bush-era tax cuts for high income households would hurt small businesses.

Oops. n/t (4.00 / 1)


"Politics ain't beanbag" - Finley Peter Dunne
[ Parent ]
The author can edit a diary. (0.00 / 0)

[ Parent ]
Fact Check: Bass Defends Tax Cuts for the Wealthy | 5 comments

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