John Tamny: Stop the Pretense: Fraidy Cat Republicans Aren't Really Cutting Taxes As They Should

"We contend that for a nation to try and tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.” ---Winston Churchill  By John Tamny LAST WEEK Paul Ryan reiterated to Roll Call that a fourth tax bracket meant to penalize the innovators and those who invest in them (the rich) will likely be a part of the Republican tax bill. This was Ryan's way of saying there will be no tax cuts, particularly cuts that will actually have a powerful economic impact. Reductions on the rich do simply because they uniquely have the after-tax funds to invest (and create jobs). After that, Republicans can't have it both ways. They can't correctly point out that the rich pay the majority of taxes, then pretend they're reducing taxes despite leaving intact nosebleed rates on the rich. The same applies to the alleged corporate tax cuts. If the "highest rate in the industrialized world" doesn't raise a lot of revenue, that's a sign that few (if any) U.S. corporations pay anywhere close to the 35% rate as is. The only bullish aspect of the GOP plan is estate tax repeal, but it's a safe bet that a Party afraid of being associated with the productive and their heirs won't have the courage to follow through. It would be better at this point if nothing passes, as opposed to what isn't a tax cut discrediting future reductions proposal put forward by politicians who can actually see the value of slashing the burden of government. RealClearMarkets. The article can be found here.