Sen. Kyl: $678-billion tax break for rich should not be offset
By David Edwards and Daniel Tencer
Sunday, July 11th, 2010 -- 2:06 pm
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johnkyl Sen. Kyl: $678 billion tax break for rich should not be offset
Sen. Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona, believes that any extension to
unemployment benefits "ought to be paid for." But when it comes to the
$678-billion cost of extending the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy, the
senator says no offsetting is necessary.
In an interview with Fox News' Chris Wallace Sunday, Kyl argued that
Congress and the Obama administration should extend the tax cuts enacted
by President George W. Bush during his first term.
Extending the entire package of tax cuts would cost the US $2.2 trillion
over the next 10 years. The Obama administration has argued in favor of
allowing to expire at least the part of the tax cuts that applies to
people earning over $250,000 a year. That portion is estimated to cost
$678 billion over 10 years.
"Tell me, how are you going to pay that $678 billion to keep those Bush
tax cuts for the wealthy?" Wallace asked Kyl.
"You should never raise taxes in order to cut taxes," Kyl said. "Surely
Congress has the authority -- and it would be right -- if we decide we
want to cut taxes to spur the economy, not to have to raise taxes in
order to offset those costs. You do need to offset the cost of increased
spending. And that’s what Republicans object to. But you should never
have to offset the cost of a deliberate decision to reduce tax rates on
Americans."
Story continues below...
Ben Armbruster at ThinkProgress notes that Kyl has in the past defended
the GOP's blocking of unemployment benefits, agreeing with other
Republicans that benefits extensions "ought to be paid for."
"5584 Dead, 717 since 1/20/09" <dea...@deadduz.com> wrote in message
news:Ibqdne3ouJ-R7afR...@posted.carinet...
Everyone's covered in that tax break, liar. Better luck next time :)
> Everyone's covered in that tax break, liar. Better luck next time :)
"The Obama administration has argued in favor of
allowing to expire at least the part of the tax cuts that applies to
people earning over $250,000 a year."
So... everyone except the rich would be covered. Dang!
> On Jul 11, 6:29 pm, "5584 Dead, 717 since 1/20/09" <dea...@deadduz.com>
> wrote:
>> http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0711/kyl-you-offset-tax-cuts/
>>
>> Sen. Kyl: $678-billion tax break for rich should not be offset
>
> Everyone's covered in that tax break, liar. Better luck next time :)
No, it applies to the top 1% of incomes.
Is everyone in the top one percent, Einstein?