A New Tax Bracket: Politicians
Isn’t it time for a “do over”?
That would be a do-over on taxes.
As April 15th tax day in America approaches, maybe — just maybe — it’s time to reconsider the entire American tax system. Adding a novel touch.
The touch? A Politician Tax. Taxing all politicians personally — all elected at the federal, state, and local levels — if they vote to raise or impose a tax on anyone. Anyone — be that an individual, a corporation, a company, or any other entity.
How would that work?
Here’s a sample headline, this one from the 2025 Biden budget proposal: “Taxes on businesses and high-net-worth individuals would increase significantly under Biden Administration’s FY 2025 Budget proposal.”
OK. Had the Politician Tax been in effect back then, President Joe Biden personally would have had his personal tax rate raised. Not anyone else. Just Joe Biden.
Here’s a current headline from PBS about taxes in Washington State: “Washington could be next to tax millionaire income.”
The story reports as follows, bold print for emphasis supplied:
Since a state Supreme Court decision nearly a century ago shot down an income tax, Washington has stood out as being one of few states controlled by Democrats without a tax on wages or salaries — though it does tax certain investment proceeds.
Facing a budget shortage, lawmakers are debating a proposal that would create a nearly 10 percent annual tax on personal earnings over $1 million. If adopted, the tax would collect billions of dollars of new revenue that would be designed to pay for free K-12 school meals, childcare services, a family tax credit and eliminate sales taxes on personal care items such as shampoo.
The state House adopted it this week after an all-night session deliberating amendments to the proposal. Now, it goes back to the Senate, which passed a version previously. Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson has indicated support if the Legislature, which is controlled by his party, can send it to him before it adjourns Thursday. [emphasis added]
Got this? The Governor of Washington is supporting “a nearly 10 percent annual tax on personal earnings over $1 million.”
So. Under the new “Politician’s Tax”, Governor Ferguson would have his personal state income tax raised by a “10 percent annual tax on personal earnings.” No excuses. No whimpering. He doesn’t have to earn a million dollars. No matter his earnings, he gets an automatic 10 percent raise on the governor’s personal state income tax bill for the governor only, with the same applied to every Washington State legislator who voted for the tax increase.
Meanwhile, over there at Americans for Tax Reform is this: “Dems to Propose Highest Capital Gains Tax Rate Since 1978.”
The story reports:
Democrats just cannot stop raising taxes.
Their latest proposal would increase the top capital gains tax rate to 35.8 percent from the current 23.8 percent. This would impose the highest capital gains tax since 1978, the stagnant Jimmy Carter era.
Again? Got it. With a Politician Tax in effect, the politicians who proposed and voted for the tax mentioned would have their personal tax rate go up by a full 12 percent, as the Democrats’ proposal they present here does.
And on it goes. If your mayor supports raising a tax of any kind in your city, then the mayor’s personal tax would go up by an equal amount. If anyone in Congress proposes a tax increase of any kind — especially a tax that does not affect them — then make it affect them.
In other words?
American politicians, too frequently of all stripes, have slowly gone tax crazy over the decades. They pass one today and move on, and then someone else passes another, and they move on from there.
It could be the personal income tax. The capital gains tax. A sales tax. A life insurance tax. A property tax.
But on and on — and on and on — goes a list of taxes that this or that American or group of Americans is facing. Taxes in America, to put it mildly, are out of control.
Thus, it would seem that the one sure way of calling a halt to this taxing mania is to, yes indeed, tax any elected politician at any level — federal, state, or local — who supports raising taxes.
In short? It’s time — more than past time — to do something about a politician’s tax mania. Be they federal, state, or local politicians.
Happy early April 15th.
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