October 29, 2001 12:23 PM | Permalink | 
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Senate Republicans have proposed even larger upper-income and corporate tax cuts than the bloated “stimulus” measure passed by the House last week on a party-line vote. Over the first three years, the Senate GOP measure would cut taxes by $220 billion, compared to $212 billion under the House bill. Earlier, there was a bipartisan agreement between the President and congressional leaders to limit additional stimulus measures to $50-75 billion.
- More than half of the tax cuts proposed by Senate Republicans for next year would go to the best-off one percent of all taxpayers, whose average tax cut in 2002 would be $33,843 each.
- In contrast, only 6 percent of the proposed 2002 tax cuts would go to the bottom three-fifths of taxpayers, whose average 2002 tax cut would be $67.
The GOP bill would (1) accelerate to 2002 the reductions in the top income tax rates scheduled to take effect in 2006; (2) repeal the corporate alternative minimum tax on large, profitable, low-tax corporations; and (3) allow corporations to write off an extra 30 percent of their equipment purchases (in 2002-04). In addition, the personal tax rebates sent out earlier this year would be extended to many taxpayers who were previously ineligible.
“Who would have thought that a national emergency would set off a feeding frenzy by corporations and the wealthy?” said Robert S. McIntyre, director of Citizens for Tax Justice. “And who could have imagined that so many of our nation’s elected officials would eagerly go along with this monstrous demonstration of greed?”
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