Conservatives Beat The Drum For Permanent Corporate Tax Cuts
Conservatives Beat The Drum For Permanent Corporate Tax Cuts
As the LA Times reported today, conservative support in Congress for President-elect Barack Obama’s proposed economic stimulus plan is “peeling off” in favor of “alternative ideas that rely even more heavily on tax reductions.” Leading this charge, the Republican Study Committee (RSC) released its preferred stimulus outline yesterday, which Matthew Yglesias noted is a “barrel full” of permanent tax cuts.
Today, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) convened a hearing to further discuss the ideas that the RSC laid out, with testimony provided by former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA), former Ebay CEO Meg Whitman, and Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. During the hearing, all the witnesses continued to beat the drum for permanent tax cuts, especially for corporations:
ROMNEY: The best medicine for a sick economy is permanent tax relief…[Corporate tax cuts] would remove fear and replace it with confidence and prosperity.
WHITMAN: The number one thing that I would look at for this group is: can we lower business taxes?…I would argue that permanency and clarity are what to look for.
NORQUIST: I would argue for permanent tax cuts…That would create real and permanent stimulus.
Cutting corporate taxes is a tired conservative solution to just about everything. Remember, it was a centerpiece of Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) presidential campaign, even before the economic crisis hit. But as the Center for American Progress’ Will Straw wrote, permanent corporate tax cuts simply fail to provide stimulus:
The track record for such steps is poor in general, but they are particularly ill-suited for a recessionary period. After all, the reason that businesses and individuals are not investing at the moment has little to do with the taxes they may pay in the future and everything to do with a fear of losing money because there is no demand in the economy, asset prices are highly volatile, and credit is hard to come by.
Citizens for Tax Justice noted that “every dollar lost from cutting the corporate income tax would increase real GDP by just 30 cents.” That’s hardly the sort of stimulative effect that would justify slashing the corporate rate.
4 Responses to “Conservatives Beat The Drum For Permanent Corporate Tax Cuts”
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It’s the race to the lowest common denominator on corporate taxes and worker pay/benefits. The corporafornicators may still be in charge when Chief Pimp Bush leave on Jan. 20th.
Bill Clinton led the CorporaDemocrats and those Blue Dogs, I mean Azure Chupacabra’s have only grown until Rahm Emanuel’s DLC leadership.
Watch the Blues closely on tax issues. It could be like Republicans and torture. John McCain and John Warner would say good things, then crater at the last moment. I expect similar behavior from Democrats on the U.S. Chamber’s wishes.
January 15th, 2009 at 1:43 pmROMNEY: The best medicine for a sick economy is permanent tax relief…[Corporate tax cuts] would remove fear and replace it with confidence and prosperity.
That ranks up there with Al Hubbards endorsement of the Wall Street Bailout.
“This economy is based on credit and based on confidence and right now the confidence isn’t there and that’s why Secretary Paulson and Ben Bernanke have decided we have to take this major step,” said Hubbard.
Hubbard added he can almost guarantee a happy ending if the bailout passes.
Happy ending? Confidence & prosperity? Lying sacks of fecal matter.
January 15th, 2009 at 1:51 pmAs I recall, Republicans were given a choice during the debate about the tax cuts that are about to expire. They could have large cuts for a limited period or smaller cuts permanently. They chose the large, temporary cut, which passed, and they immediately began negotiating from the new position of the goal posts, wanting to make the large cuts permanent.
January 16th, 2009 at 4:39 pmSo far I have linked from five different websites and each has yet to say how “permanent corporate tax cuts simply fail to provide stimulus:”. Give me a good reason as to HOW and WHY they “fail”. And if they are so horrid then why are all other countries, minus Japan, are lower than us. Also why are all the manufactering companies leaving? All I am asking for is proof, and I have yet to see any. All you have is the same tired arguement on how corporate america are just thugs.
February 1st, 2009 at 12:14 am