Taxes of the Times, VI

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2012/01/taxes-of-the-times-vi

One of the many valuable services provided by FutureOfCapitalism.com is keeping track of the tax increases supported by the New York Times. An editorial in today's Times comes out for an increase in corporate taxes, which are already among the world's highest. Says the Times, commenting on a report by the president's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness: "All of this would require more tax revenue, but the report discusses corporate tax reform that would not raise more money and would make it easier for American multinational corporations to avoid United States tax on foreign profits. ... At a time when austerity is in vogue, it is also morally indefensible to not ask for more from corporations." This is, by my count, at least the 17th tax increase supported by the Times in recent years.

As a reminder, here are the previous sixteen on the list:

1. tax on bank profits
2. tax on on banker bonuses
3. the Pelosi Tax, a 5.4% tax on the income of joint filers over $1 million (and single filers over $500,000)
4. a tax on "very expensive" health care plans
5. a federal tax on "drinks loaded with sugar."
6. a $1.5 billion a year increase in property taxes in New York
7. a 1% tax on private health insurance premiums
8. a new 4 percent tax on income above $200,000 a year for married couples and above $100,000 for single taxpayers
9. an increase in the payroll tax of 0.2 percentage points for earners below the $97,500 level and of "3 to 4 percent on wages above the base."
10. restoring the death tax, which was scheduled to expire in 2010, to a 45% level on estates of more than $2 million.
11. tax increases on fees charged by hedge funds and private equity mangers.
12. an increase of $2 a pack in the tax on cigarettes sold in Nassau County.
13. a new five-cent a bottle tax on "water, iced tea, sports drinks and juice" sold in New York State.
14. higher income taxes on "the middle class."
15. "energy taxes"
16. a financial transactions tax or a value added tax

As noted here earlier, could probably even crank the number of Times-backed tax increases even higher if one included three taxes — the tax on tanning businesses, the tax for being uninsured, and the Medicare tax on "unearned" income for joint filers with income above $250,000 — that were included in ObamaCare, which the Times editorialists supported. Those would bring the total of Times taxes up to 20.

And as also noted here earlier:

At a certain point, it just becomes a caricature. To a carpenter, everything looks like a nail. To a Times editorialist, everything looks like a reason for a tax increase. There's a reason so few of the Times's suggested tax increases have become law, which is that most Americans feel like they are taxed enough already. ... And never mind that the New York Times Company issuing the editorials is controlled by a trust organized legally in part to avoid the death tax, and that it sought and got tax New York breaks for its new headquarters building. ... It's maddening, but it's also a useful glimpse into the mindset of the thought-leaders on the left.

by Editor  |  Jan 23, 2012 at 7:01 am Related Topics:  Press, Taxes receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list