Today's New York Times has an editorial (here) encouraging Obama not to forget about raising taxes on the rich.
If Obama is to raise taxes, he needs to get beyond merely
raising tax rates. High rates are
typically paid by "income rich" people, often our most productive and
talented citizens who are at the early to middle stages of their careers. Those who are "very income rich" or
"asset rich" typically have the resources and expertise to avoid
paying high tax rates. They don't pay
high rates today, and they still won't if Obama simply reverses the Bush tax
cuts. What's fair about that?
Real tax reform would ensure that the "very income rich" and the "asset rich," who are really the ones with financial resources beyond what they require, pay taxes like everyone else. Why should we burden the mid-career doctor, engineer or small business owner whose spouse also works with higher taxes? Shouldn't Obama go after the likes of Warren Buffett, Paris Hilton and the Rockefeller Foundation instead? Wouldn't that be a better way both to raise revenue and restore fairness?
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