BUDGET

Experts: GOP Plan B Would Lighten Tax Burden for Some Wealthy Households

Updated: December 20, 2012 | 8:52 a.m.
December 20, 2012 | 8:51 a.m.

Only those who earn between $200,000 and $1 million would see their federal tax burden shrink under the GOP's 'Plan B' proposal, according to analysis from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

While extending Bush-era tax cuts on income up to $1 million is the centerpiece of House Speaker John Boehner's proposal to avert part of a year-end fiscal crisis, earners at nearly all levels will see their tax burden rise, albeit only slightly for most, according to a distributonal table posted online.

Those earning more than $1 million will pay $72,360 more on average than they do today, but due to a combination of other included tax changes, others would be hit as well. Poor wage earners would see an increased tax burden due, in part, to the loss of tax cuts enacted under Obama's 2009 stimulus, said Tax Policy Center senior fellow Roberton Williams. After millionaires, those earning between $10,000 and $20,000 a year would see the next-highest average increase in their tax burden at $262.

Only two groups would see a lightened tax load. Those who earn between $200,000 and $500,000 a year would pay an average of $301 less under the Plan B proposal than they do right now. And earners who make between $500,000 and $1 million would pay $164 less.

The GOP is expected to vote on the proposal today.

Get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox. Sign up for National Journal's morning alert, Wake-Up Call, and afternoon newsletter, The Edge. Subscribe here.


Leave A Comment
The National Journal Group has the right (but not the obligation) to monitor the comments and to remove any materials it deems inappropriate.
Comments powered by Disqus
Follow National Journal
Special Section

A Gloomy Outlook for the Working-Class American

The U.S. economy once worked like a finely meshed machine. Not anymore.

Columns
Charlie Cook: Off to the Races

Republicans’ Hatred of Obama Blinds Them to Public Disinterest in Scandals

May 20, 2013
Republicans are so focused on their bitter battles against Obama, they can’t see how little impact the “scandals” have had on public opinion.
Charlie Cook: The Cook Report

Republicans Should Go Easy on Obama, At Least in Public

May 16, 2013
As a tactical matter, a subterranean campaign will score more direct hits on the president.
Ronald Brownstein: Political Connections

How the White House Scandals Could Hurt Republicans, Too

May 16, 2013
By enraging the base and strengthening the faction least willing to compromise with Obama, the IRS and Benghazi affairs could hurt a GOP shot at the presidency.
More Columns »
Get a trial subscription to National Journal magazine.