Kucinich Proposes Progressive Tax Reform To Assist Workers and Families

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/oh10_kucinich/pr_031208.html

Monday, December 08, 2003

Kucinich Proposes Progressive Tax Reform To Assist Workers and Families

Progressive Tax Act of 2003 Introduced Today in the House of Representatives

Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH), Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, today introduced the Progressive Tax Act of 2003, a bill that reforms the tax system to provide needed relief to workers and families.

The 2001, 2002, and 2003 Bush tax cuts have created a tax system that favors the wealthy over the working class. These tax cuts have complicated the tax code with more loopholes, and have saddled the federal treasury with record deficits.

In response, Kucinich has introduced bill that creates a more fair, simple, and adequate tax system. The Progressive Tax Act of 2003 gives $87 billion per year to people with modest income and families in the middle class. The bill collects an additional $107 billion per year from the Bush tax buts, corporate tax loopholes, and other tax giveaways. The bill therefore raises a sum total of $20 billion per year that remains available for deficit reduction or new spending.

First, the bill provides a refundable $1530 Payroll Tax Credit for people who work. This tax credit is simple, targeted to relieve a high tax burden, provides a stimulus effect, and encourages work.

Second, the bill provides a refundable $2000 Simplified Family Credit. This simplifies the tax code by consolidating the EITC, Child Tax Credit, Additional Child Credit, and exemption for children into one Simplified Family Credit. This tax credit will provide greater transparency, provide extra work incentives, and a stimulus effect.

To raise federal revenue the bill will close corporate loopholes and sets tougher penalties to prevent corporate tax shelter abuse. In addition, the bill will roll back most of the Bush tax cuts in the past three years that benefited the wealthy.

“Our tax system is in need of desperate repair,” stated Kucinich. “Tax cuts to the wealthiest one percent of Americans do not create jobs and do not increase wages for working people. The only way to real economic strength and security is to provide real tax relief to those who need it most, workers and families. This bill enables real economic growth and progressive tax reform while providing fiscal responsibility.”

For a complete summary of Kucinich’s bill click here.
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/oh10_kucinich/summary-of-tax-bill.pdf

Sadly, it probably makes too much sense to ever happen.

They all have the same (or similar) plan, and they'd all be able to get it through congress, I bet.

for many of his planks. Already there and waiting. In a republican administration, with a republican majority in the house, they aren't going to pass. They are too voter friendly. Too supportive of working americans. Put Dennis in the WH, and we'll see that change!

I mostly like that it's so damn easy to understand!!

The only one I didn't like was repealing the investment depreciation thing because that has helped small business.

And the other thing I don't see is how this pays for his health care plan. Can someone connect that for me?

not directly related to this tax proposal but since you ask DK's universal single-payer national health insurance proposal would be paid by phased-in tax on employers of 7.7% which is less than employers pay currently on average for health insurance

http://www.kucinich.us/issues/universalhealth.php

Non-profit national health insurance will decrease total healthcare spending while providing more treatment and services -- through reductions in bureaucracy and cost-cutting measures such as bulk purchasing of prescriptions drugs. Funding will come primarily from existing government healthcare spending (more than $1 trillion) and a phased-in tax on employers of 7.7% (almost $1 trillion). The employers' tax is less than the 8.5% of payroll now paid on average by companies that provide private insurance.

last year. Except I think one problem was that the percentages weren't a flat rate, the percentages were split, and the employee portion was based on income and not clear. Anyway, it lost by 60/40 which makes me concerned that single payer would ever pass. I also don't know if they were going to consolidated workman's comp care and everything into the one plan. That would save business even more money. But then people start getting all arrogant and thinking they don't want the kind of health care you get at the county clinic so they reject it. I don't know if we'll ever get to single payer.

That's a key provision of DK's plan: you get the care from your own doc, not from a clinic (unless you choose to).

Look at who it benefits and burdens. When you grease the skids for one thing, and then do the opposite for other things, you get more of what you reward and less of what you burden.

What does the tax code reward? It rewards a concentration of wealth among people who commit attrocities on the economy (think Enron, mutual fund rip offs, World Com, etc). Who does it burden? People who work hard.

What is the root of all wealth? Labor.

Our tax code promotes a smaller, less efficient overall economy which concentrates the wealth it does create in the hands of a few. A progressive tax code which achieves the Keynsiane ideal -- which spreads wealth downward and outward in a way that is a reward for hard labor, and a safety net to encourage people to work at harder endeavors -- will create a larger, more efficient, more rewarding economy.

This is what Dean, to me, is silly. This is why Kucinich and Edwards aren't bullshitting when they say a fair economy is a bigger economy which will be able to pay for things like universal health care. This is why they care about progressive taxation (and the downward and outward redistribution of wealth) first and foremost (or, at least, Edwards does).

payroll tax rate - and I am in heaven!

:-)

even though the common person would seemingly rather vote for wealthy elitists like Howard Dean

ain't it a kick in the head?

We must convince all those who tell us they prefer Kucinich but are voting out of fear NOT TO. Vote your conscience in the primary -- VOTE KUCINICH! :D

this country is fastly losing conviction in favor of sameness

it is sad

I fear the message we'll be sending to other countries ... but then they all loved Clinton (guess they have their corporate masters to answer to as well)... *sigh*

We need to get him a cape with a big red S on it. No human could do as much as he is doing.

Superman. Able to leap the highest bull* at a single bound.

good tax plan, needs a kick.

(I'm done now!)

Thanks for kicking this, I like the plan too.

so is our entire political system, our infrastructure, our medical care, our enviornmental policy, etc. and it seems the man the man with the ideas and vision to get things done continues to be ignored.
Great tax plan. Dennis continues to work for usm let's not let up with our support for him.
Peace

https://www.kucinich.us/contribute.php

The BFEE is the problem - Kucinich is the answer.

Dan Brown
Saint Paul, Minnesota

Alabama for example has a tax rate for income at 11% for the poor and only 3% for the wealthy. California has a tax rate at 10% for the poor and like Alabama it falls down once you hit higher income levels, 7%. Plus massive regressive taxation in sales,tobacco, and cigerette taxes .

The top 400 income earners in the whole country make over $175 million per year but BEFORE the Bush tax cuts they only paid 22% in federal income taxes plus almost nothing for Payroll taxes (figure it at about 17% after the Bush tax giveways. The poor pay 15.3% in payroll taxes and this is before the massive sales taxes at the state level (most state income taxes are flattish so that cancels out but there are exceptions such as regressive California and Alabama).

The poor and YES the minoritys pay more in taxes as a percentage of their income , as ONLY the Green party canidate pointed out in the California governors race. He explained that our collecting of racial data (which the GOP wanted to obliterate) shows the average Latino not only paid more sales taxes but infact more in state INCOME taxes than whites. He also showed that the budget in California would be balanced in the wealthy paid a much as the poor in just income taxes alone.

I was just listening to Nader on C-SPAN and I swear that if every left leaning TV personality and every Democrat (or even 1/4th-1/2) talked constantly about the important issues and with such knowledge and expierence talked like him or the California canidate then the right wing would get bitch slapped half way into not just last week but last century in elections.

Anyway the conventional wisdom fed to voters from our media is the the workers especially unions are lazy bums , the poor and minoritys drain the treasury , and the Democratic party is obsessed with taking away your gun (hard to blame them , anytime you hear somebody like Tom Arnold impose his presence into a political discussion all you hear people like him talk about is guns and abortion: YAWN to me and even worse it gets antagonistic to many voters!!). Dean sounds like he wants to make an honest attempt to not tick voters off with in your face yelling about the most contriversal social issues plus really is taking on a few important issues (like media reform in our nation and workers rights in our trading partnerscountrys). Hes no Ralph Nader but he really sounds like he wants to represent average Americans more than any Democrat in a long time.

Hopefully voices like Kucinich and Nader plus others who are fundamnetaly in touch with reality can rub off on Dean between now and November . Dean has become my man again since he let it slip on Hardball that he would break up big corperations media monopolys . The subject of media owners views , like our tax system, used to have more twlight zone logic (ie the mythical "liberal media" like the mythical "progressive tax system" )and the fact that Dean figured out the obvious puts him way above most Democrats. (yea yea many whine about Fox news but few seem to realize corperations have distoted the basic truths about many major issues in EVERY media outlet pretty much , since they own every major media outlket)

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