Obama Is Flexible On Highest Tax Rates

[msanthrope]

21. On the top earners, income is easily manipulated..think Romney's last taxes.

The real money is on capital gains tax. If President Obama says were not going to raise income tax back to Clinton levels he comes across as bipartisan. That leaves the Republicans to bring up the capital gains tax issue. I see what he's doing here.... He knows that the top earners can manipulate their income to avoid effectively any real income tax increase. It's much more difficult to avoid capital gains taxes and the elimination of certain loopholes.

So income taxes are getting raised...but if it is framed as " not as high as the Clinton era" then it is significantly more difficult for Republicans to argue the taxes are getting raised too much. And if the focus is on the income taxes And that's where Republicans choose to fight, there going to have much less leverage when it comes to capital gains and loopholes.