Friends of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

A Bad Case of Budget Déjà Vu

Haven't we seen this before?

We're talking, about the president's 2013 budget proposal, released earlier this week -- as well as the U.S. Treasury's Greenbook, which highlights the president's tax proposals.

The President is calling for increases in the top marginal tax rates, reduction or elimination of itemized deductions, and higher taxes on growth-stimulating investment.

No meaningful tax reform. Higher taxes.

Add to that the spending increases in the proposed budget and you get a serious case of déjà vu.

In the fragile economy, the last thing our job creators need is to be saddled with higher taxes.  

The general rule is what you tax, you get less of.  And so, in increasing taxes on work, productivity, saving, and investment even more, the sad result will be less work, less productivity, less saving, and less investment.

Further, rather than seeking to make the tax code more conducive to economic growth, President Obama puts an even greater reliance on using the tax code to raise revenue.  He calls for the double taxation of profits American worldwide companies earn abroad, and $41 billion in tax hikes on job-creating traditional energy producers.

American employers, families and workers are suffering under a complex tax code that costs billions each year in compliance costs.  There’s never been a better time than now for serious proposals that lessen and simplify the tax burdens on millions of Americans.

But from the White House, it’s just déjà vu all over again. 

Read more in this article, where Caroline Harris, the U.S. Chamber’s Chief Tax Counsel, tells the McClatchy that, “there is something there to dislike for everyone."