Don’t give Obama a two year extension, because he just wants a campaign issue in 2012...make tax changes that are permanent and demand a clean bill with NO Dream Act or unemployment insurance extensions.
I like this trade off......index the gas tax for inflation, but also index tax deductions for inflations and increase the standard deduction to $50k and index it for inflation, then let the Clinton tax code return and make it permanent. Lower the corporate income tax to 25% with no tax on dividends or interest, index cap gains for inflation at 20% rate, but zero percent held to retirement. Don’t tax income from overseas operations. Leave the Clinton code with three rates: 15%, 28%, 39.8%—but with the top one kicking in at $1 million income.
Promise to increase consumption taxes when the economy recovers....
Maybe I have no imagination, but I don’t see how this could be a useful campaign issue for Obama. If Republicans put forward as weak a candidate as the last one, Obama might win on just about anything. But this is all beside the point. The country doesn’t need a tax increase now. Voters are behind Republicans that want spending cuts, however. Republicans shouldn’t try to be as cynical as the enemy is in order to get rid of Obama. Republicans should instead act on what they ran on: a conservative agenda for saving the country from corrupt, inept, and often treacherous leaders. Let the other side destroy itself.
I think just the opposite. We should lower the standard deduction and the tax rates. There are too many people as it is paying zero or negative income tax rates. Raising the standard deceuction would further progressive-ize the already too progressive income tax. People who don't pay income tax don't care about income tax rates.