Even if President Barack Obama gets his way in upcoming tax negotiations, we’ll still be a long way from tackling the deficit.
The document General Explanations of the
Administration’s Fiscal Year 2013 Revenue Proposals, Table of Revenue Estimates holds the details:
Obama Administration projection of increased tax revenueIf Obama is successful in his plan to increase taxes on upper-income taxpayers, it will bring in — according to this estimate by the Treasury Department — $56 billion in 2013. If additional tax expenditures are eliminated, revenue could increase by $83 billion. Both of these numbers are projected to rise in future years.
To place these numbers in context: In fiscal year 2012, which ended just one month ago, the federal government spent an estimated $3,500 billion. The largest tax revenue increase Obama hopes for is 2.4 percent of this.
Considering only the deficit from 2012, estimated at $1,100 billion, the $83 billion tax hike is 7.54 percent. But that’s only the deficit, which is the amount we borrow, not the amount we spend.
These tax increases are not going to solve our problems with the federal budget. That’s assuming that the tax hikes will not cause economic harm.
The federal budget is so out of balance compared to the size of the economy that even the wildest dreams of liberals won’t balance the budget. The Tax Foundation has calculated from IRS data that if government taxed 100 percent of the income earned by those who earn over $1 million, it would raise $709 billion. That’s not really close to last year’s deficit of $1,100 billion.
And then, why would these people work?