Picture of US Senator Candidate Sarah SteelmanRolla, MO – The Bush tax cuts are set to expire at the end of this year and a failure to extend them will result in a massive tax increase. President Obama has proposed extending the tax cuts only for people earning under $250,000 a year, and allowing the rates to increase for everyone else. In this instance, allowing the tax cuts to expire will amount to a tax increase without an up or down vote to raise marginal rates.

 

“It wasn’t that long ago when (then) Senator Obama said that the last thing people needed in a bad economy is a tax increase, yet that is exactly what he is proposing. I’m not surprised; he had no problems raising taxes through ObamaCare on the people he said would be safe from new taxes. I want to know if Sen. Claire McCaskill will be cheerleading this bad idea and hitting people with a tax increase while our economy continues to struggle. She likes to pretend to be an independent thinker, but votes for every one of the President’s worst initiatives, from ObamaCare and Utility MACT to stimulus and bailouts. Missourians want to know if she will allow the Bush tax cuts to expire or if she will vote to extend them, plain and simple,” said U.S. Senate candidate Sarah Steelman.

 

REMINDER OF THE TAX INCREASE LOOMING

(Lee’s Summit Conservative full article here)
  • Lowest tax rate (mostly personal) up from 10% to 15% (50% increase)
  • The 25% bracket goes up to 28% (12% increase)
  • The 28% tax bracket climbs up to 31% (11% increase)
  • The 33% tax bracket climbs up to 36% (9% increase)
  • Top income tax rate (business and personal) up from 35% to 39% (11% increase)
  • Marriage Penalty returns so working couples will pay more taxes than 2 single people.
  • Child Tax Credit cut from $1,000 per child to $500 per child.
  • Dependent care and adoption tax will be cut.
  • Inheritance (Death) Tax returns with a top rate of 55%
  • Capital Gains tax up from 15% to 20% (33% increase)
  • Dividends tax will rise from 15% to 39.6% (164% increase)
  • Alternative Minimum Tax rate is estimated to now reach out to 28 million families, where today it only affects the top 4 million income families.

 

The Bush tax cut extension will not affect all of the new ObamaCare-related taxes that will impact people earning under $250,000, so there will not be an overall net reduction:  Allowing them to expire completely amounts to the largest tax increase in American history. President Obama’s proposal to limit the tax cut extension is being countered by the Republican plan to extend all the tax cuts.

“Sen. McCaskill can’t have it both ways, she can’t vote in lockstep with Sen. Harry Reid and claim to be an independent thinker. She should us know if she supports raising taxes and making a bad economy worse. She may believe that, as with ObamaCare, that Missourians just need to experience higher taxes and they’ll learn to like it. Missourians will always know where I stand on taxes and spending, and I promise it won’t be in favor of high rates and big budgets,” concluded Steelman.

Sarah Steelman is running for the GOP nomination to challenge Sen. Claire McCaskill in November. Ms. Steelman is a former State Treasurer and State Senator, a strong supporter of limited government, individual responsibility, and sound fiscal policy. She is also a staunch advocate of life, the Second Amendment, repealing Obamacare and strengthening our military.