Some Advice for the GOP
In the current debate over fiscal policy and the debt ceiling, Republicans have drawn a line in the sand: No tax increases. But I fear they have lost sight of a key issue: As I discussed in this column, the distinction between spending and taxation is often murky and sometimes meaningless.
My advice: Amend your line in the sand to NO INCREASES IN TAX RATES. Be willing to give up on tax expenditures if we simultaneously make current tax rates permanent--or, better yet, if we lower rates, as the Bowles-Simpson commission suggested.
Addendum: A phase-out of deductions for high-income taxpayers would count as an increase in tax rates, as the Wall Street Journal notes today on its editorial page.
My advice: Amend your line in the sand to NO INCREASES IN TAX RATES. Be willing to give up on tax expenditures if we simultaneously make current tax rates permanent--or, better yet, if we lower rates, as the Bowles-Simpson commission suggested.
Addendum: A phase-out of deductions for high-income taxpayers would count as an increase in tax rates, as the Wall Street Journal notes today on its editorial page.
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