American Jobs Act Pay-Fors All on Tax Side

[Donnachaidh]

http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/09/12/american-jobs-act-pay-fors-all-on-tax-side/

Well, this is a bit unexpected. OMB Director Jack Lew strolled into the White House briefing room and laid out the plan to pay for the American Jobs Act, and it’s entirely from ending tax breaks for rich people and corporations.

Among the offsets suggested by Lew:

• New limits on deductions for income over $250,000. This would raise $400b over ten years.
• New formulas for taxing the income of hedge fund managers’ could raise $18 billion.
• Oil and gas measures, Lew said, would raise $40 billion.
• Limiting tax deductions for corporate jets would raise $3 billion.

:snip:

What this signals is that the American Jobs Act is an aggressively political document: spending money to create jobs, paid for by ending tax breaks for those who can most afford it. It also happens to be the correct move for the economy, but obviously House Republicans are not going to remove themselves as human shields from the rich or corporations. So the bill offers a choice – we can help people get back to work and raise GDP growth, or we can do nothing and allow millions to suffer at the expense of the rich and corporations. That’s certainly an improvement over the fears that safety net cuts would be the price for this improvement in the near-term jobs picture.

More at the link --