The $1.4 Trillion Obama Tax Increase

Heritage Foundation Senior Policy Analyst Brian Riedl details how President Barack Obama’s budget raises taxes on Americans by $1.4 trillion:

In his recent address to Congress, President Obama promised that “if your family earns less than $250,000 a year, you will not see your taxes increased a single dime. I repeat: not one single dime.” Yet even before the budget was released, he signed into law a 62-cent tobacco tax increase that does not exempt lower-income smokers. His budget proposes a $646 billion cap-and-trade tax that energy companies would immediately pass on to all consumers, including those earning less than $250,000. Consequently, President Obama’s budget would raise everyone’s taxes.
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While there is never a good time to raise taxes, President Obama’s proposal to raise taxes during a recession is especially problematic. Even if the tax increases are not implemented until 2011, many businesses planning long-term investment and hir­ing will likely begin scaling back their plans in anticipation of the coming tax hikes. Nor is an eco­nomic expansion by 2011 guaranteed.

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