Jeb Bush’s new tax plan could cost $3.4 trillion over next decade

Source: Washington Post

Just three tax brackets. No more taxes on death or marriage. Tax cuts for major corporations and small businesses and about 42 million families.

Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush on Wednesday unveiled a long-awaited tax reform plan that would add trillions of dollars to the deficit, filling in details that he says would help fulfill his promise to restore 4 percent annual economic growth. With a North Carolina factory as his backdrop, Bush married traditional conservative thinking on taxes with some politically viable proposals that already enjoy support on Capitol Hill.

The plan would add $1.2 trillion to the deficit, even when using a system favored by Republicans that takes into account any potential growth the tax changes could encourage, according to Republican economists who reviewed the plan on Bush's behalf. The plan would lose closer to $3.4 trillion using traditional methods.

Given the high price tag and some of the details, Bush's tax plan is fraught with political peril. His brother, former President George W. Bush, focused much of his 2000 presidential campaign on plans to slash taxes and jump-start economic growth. Those tax cuts contributed to the record deficit spending that even Jeb Bush criticized Tuesday night on Stephen Colbert's new late-night talk show. In 2012, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney had similar ideas on tax reform that were widely dismissed by voters, who believed he was pushing policies that would mostly help wealthy people.

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Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/09/09/jeb-bush-finally-unveils-tax-overhaul-plan-calling-for-fair-environment/