Ezra Klein: Ryan's tax plan: $6.2 trillion short

[flpoljunkie]

Ryan’s tax plan: $6.2 trillion short

The Tax Policy Center looked into the revenue loss associated with House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan’s plan to cut the tax code down to two rates of 10 percent and 25 percent. They estimate the changes would raise $31.1 trillion over 10 years, or 15.4 percent of GDP. That’s $10 trillion less than the tax code would raise if the Bush tax cuts were allowed to expire, and $4.6 trillion less than it would raise if all of the Bush tax cuts were extended.

The Republican conressman says he’ll “broaden the tax base to maintain revenue...consistent with historical norms of 18 to 19 percent.” So let’s say Ryan needs to find close-enough deductions and loopholes to hit 18.5 percent of GDP. That means he’d need to close about $6.2 trillion in tax deductions and loopholes over 10 years.

That will not be easy. And, as of now, he has not named even one deduction or loophole that he would close.

more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/ryans-tax-plan-62-trillion-short/2011/08/25/gIQAtZS7PS_blog.html

[high density]

1. We can't "broaden the base"

The income tax base is already as broad as it can be. The people who aren't paying or are getting the earned income credit are impoverished already.

I'd like to know why we tax real work at a higher rate than capital gains.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

2. How about

just making sure that everybody who is supposed to be paying their fair share of taxes is actually doing it? That seems like the least that they could do, right? It's part of being a responsible citizen IMHO (or at least it used to be).