Politics

Obama to Propose More Than Half a Trillion Dollars in New Taxes Over Ten Years

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Reason 24/7

The president's proposed 2014 budget might be DOA, but not necessarily the tax hikes in it.

From Reuters:

President Barack Obama on Wednesday will issue a greatest hits list of ideas to raise $580 billion in new tax revenues over a decade, including a minimum tax on the wealthy and putting an end to some corporate tax breaks, administration officials said.

The president's 2014 budget proposal, expected to be released in full later on Wednesday, has no chance of moving forward in the divided U.S. Congress. But as lawmakers consider a revamp of the tax code and face a deadline on the government's debt limit this summer, some Obama measures could play a role.

Of course the federal government's got a spending problem, not a revenue problem. And while the president focuses on more revenue, Republicans aren't focusing on cutting spending. And as for sequestration, tax hikes this year are already twice as big as the reduction in the growth of spending.

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