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America's Tax Freedom Day Arrives Early

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America's Tax Freedom Day Arrives Early Spring 2009 TaxWatch America’s Tax Freedom Day Arrives Early The economy may be in recession, but it’s Taxes may be down today, but the not all bad news. Thanks to recent tax study warns of looming budget cuts and a slowing economy, America’s deficits that threaten to push taxes Message from tax burden fell to the lowest level in four to unprecedented levels. the President 2 decades this year. “Government spending is expected to That’s the finding of the latest Tax explode in 2009,” said Josh Barro, Tax Federal Tax Reform Freedom Day® calculation from the Foundation economist and author of the Tax Foundation. According to the new report. “If this year’s projected deficit on the Way? 3 new report, Americans will work were counted as a tax, Tax Freedom Day until April 13th in wouldn’t arrive until State Budget Shortfalls 2009 to pay their May 29th—the latest May Spark Tax Reform federal, state and date ever for this deficit- 4 local tax bills. That’s inclusive measure.” two weeks earlier Experts Talk Stimulus, While taxes are at his- than 2007, and is the toric lows, Americans Reform in Recent nation’s lowest tax still work nearly three Tax Policy Podcasts 5 burden since just after and a half months to the Kennedy tax cut pay for government, in the 1960s. Free Offer: Facts & more than any other “This short-term dip expense in the average Figures Pocket Book 6 in tax burdens is being family budget. driven by two factors,” “Despite the economic Media Impact Report; said Scott A. Hodge, slowdown, Americans State Policy Report 7 President of the Tax will spend more on Foundation. “Falling taxes this year than incomes from the Help Support Sound on food, clothing and recession have sharply housing combined,” Tax Policy 8 cut tax collections. said Barro. Overall, the nation’s total tax And the so-called ‘stimulus’ package bill is $3.48 billion for 2009, or 28 percent recently passed by Congress included of the nation’s income. significant temporary tax cuts.” The tax cuts in the stimulus bill America’s Rising Tax Burden include the “Making Work Pay” For most of the nation’s history, America credit, an expanded education credit, has been a low-tax haven. From the and a temporary fix of the growing nation’s founding through the early part Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). of the 20th century government spending continued on page 6 Message from the President: The Donor Next Door I was saddened recently to learn that long-time Tax Foundation supporter Austin “Pete” Verity passed away last August at the age of 91 in Vero Beach, Florida. I’d been thinking about Pete after President Obama released his new budget which calls for higher taxes on the so-called “rich.” Although Obama wants us to think that taxes on the rich will only impact hedge-fund managers, I know better. They will actually hit millions of successful entre- preneurs like Pete who have become the target of envy and redistributive politics. To me, Pete Verity symbolized the American dream. When he returned to Long Island, New York, after serving in the Army during World War II, he had nothing but a strong back and an old truck that his father had once used to run bootleg liquor. Making do with what he had, he started a small moving company called Austin Verity & Son Inc. in Seaford, Long Island. As time went on, Pete’s small local company started moving retirees from Long Island to Florida. This was back in the day when people were literally buying Tax retirement homes in the proverbial swamp. In some cases, Pete’s moving trucks had to drive miles out of their way because the wooden bridges serving many Wat c h areas of Florida at the time could not bear the weight of a full moving van. Tax Watch (ISSN 1552-924X) is published In 1991, after moving thousands of people to Florida, Pete and his wife Dorothy four times per year by the Tax Foundation in retired there themselves. They lived modestly and I’m sure never considered Washington, D.C., a nonprofit, non-partisan themselves rich. They were the classic “millionaire next door.” Pete told me research organization that has monitored tax policy at the federal, state and local that he contributed to the Tax Foundation because we were defending the levels since 1937. values that he had worked his whole life to uphold. I have never felt a greater burden than I did that day. As I have traveled the country getting to know hundreds of Tax Foundation supporters such as Pete Verity, I have learned that the key to financial success is to start and run your own business. Yes, some people do get rich by winning The Tax Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit the lottery or by being talented enough to become professional athletes. But the organization that relies on tax-deductible contribu- vast majority of successful Americans do it the old-fashioned way—they invent a tions for support. Please send correspondence to: product or service that other Americans need or want. Then they work 80-hour Tax Watch weeks to build the business into something bigger than themselves. National Press Building While demagogues will defend the higher taxes by saying that “only 2 percent 529 14th Street, N.W., Suite 420 of all small businesses will pay higher taxes,” the reality is that the majority Washington, D.C. 20045 of taxpayers who will be hit by the higher tax rates are business owners. The Visit us on the web at www.taxfoundation.org so-called rich are America’s entrepreneurial class and tend to pay their business or call (202) 464-6200. taxes with their individual tax form, not a traditional corporate form. © 2009 Tax Foundation Tax Foundation economists estimate that more than half of all small business income could face higher taxes if Obama’s tax hike is allowed to be enacted. This could be the largest tax hike on entrepreneurship in American history. That is not the change America deserves. So to Pete Verity I say goodbye and thank you. We will continue to defend the values that you exemplified all your life. Sincerely, Scott A. Hodge 2 • TaxWatch With Obama’s creation of a new The authors urge lawmakers to return to Federal Tax tax reform panel this spring, federal basic tax principles: broad tax bases, lower tax reform is making headlines again. tax rates, cutting economic distortions Just in time, a new Tax Foundation from the tax code, encouraging savings, Reform on study outlines a bipartisan way to and making taxes more transparent. overhaul America’s complex and One key recommendation is to broaden the Way? burdensome tax code. the tax base and cut rates for the personal “Federal policymakers face a choice: income tax. The study shows that credits, they can either continue to operate in a deductions and exemptions carve away ‘reactive’ mode, proposing tax legislation nearly 45 percent of the income tax base, haphazardly, resorting to requiring much higher rates. Eliminating temporary fixes, and acting them would allow a 34 percent across- hastily when tax legisla- the-board tax rate cut. tion is due to expire,” said “Credits and deductions shrink the the authors, “or they can size of the tax base, and many of them take a ‘proactive’ stance, accrue disproportionately to higher- instituting farsighted income individuals, and require higher reforms that will lead to tax rates generally to raise the same an efficient and fair tax amount of revenue,” said the authors. system for the long term.” With America’s corporate tax rates The study is authored by among the highest in the world, the four leading tax experts study calls for a wholesale revision of from diverse backgrounds: the corporate tax code. Dr. Robert Carroll of the Tax Foundation, “Corporate tax rates have the effect of Diane Lim Rogers and Buck Chapoton reducing capital accumulation, lowering of the Concord Coalition, and Maya labor productivity and ultimately real “The federal MacGuineas of the Committee for a wages and living standards,” said the Responsible Federal Budget. authors. “The lesson is that the United tax code is States should place less emphasis on The report presents a reasonable, business income taxes for financing consensus approach to tax policy that government.” inefficient and highlights areas of agreement among experts across the political spectrum. The authors of the study have different not ready for views on the appropriate size and scope of “We believe a productive discussion of government, but they agree on one thing: the 21st century tax reform starts where tax and budget the current federal tax code is deeply policy considerations intersect,” said flawed and ripe for fundamental reform. the authors. “The approach we have economy.” laid out can serve as an excellent starting “Today’s tax code raises revenue point for developing a comprehensive, inefficiently, and is not well equipped bipartisan proposal that would vastly to handle the challenges of the 21st improve our tax system.” century economy,” said the authors. Read the full study, “Moving Forward with Getting Real Stimulus Bipartisan Tax Policy,” at www.taxfoundation. In the midst of debates over “stimulating” org/research/show/24335.html. the economy, the authors warn that some kinds of stimulus spending may end up hurting the economy in the long run. “When it comes to tax policies pursued in the name of short-term stimulus, the Tax Fact: rule should be ‘first, do no harm,’” said America’s highest state the authors.
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