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The Deficit Commission

Submitted by Roanman on Thu, 12/02/2010 - 06:08

 

The President's Deficit Commission released their recommendations yesterday, and they are as follows:

Taxes

Would collapse today's five income tax rates into three brackets: 8 percent for the lowest incomes, 14 percent for middle incomes and 23 percent for the wealthiest.
Would lower the corporate tax rate to 26 percent from 35 percent today.
Would end $1.1 trillion in popular tax breaks to permit these low rates. Tax breaks to be eliminated range from the deduction of mortgage interest to receiving health insurance from employers on a pre-tax basis. Such moves would broaden the tax base and make virtually all Americans pay more in taxes.
Would tax capital gains and dividends as ordinary income rather than at today's 15 percent rate.
Would raise payroll taxes on the wealthy so that 90 percent of taxable wages would be subject to the payroll tax by 2050.
Would increase the federal gas tax by 15 cents a gallon to pay for transportation improvements.


Retirement benefits

Would raise the age Americans can get Social Security benefits from 62 to 68 by 2050 and to 69 by 2075. This reflects that Americans are living and working longer.
Would allow early retirement benefits for career manual laborers.
Would boost benefits for Americans aged 81 to 85.


Spending

Would cap spending on almost all government programs through 2020 except for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and some defense programs.
Would require the president to propose annual limits on war spending, a major change when America is fighting two wars without a tax increase to pay for them. That has never happened in U.S. history.
 
 
Federal pay, work force

Would impose a three-year freeze on congressional pay, which now increases annually.
Would freeze pay for civilian federal workers.
Would gradually reduce the government's civilian work force by 10 percent.
 
 
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