Roger Williams U.S. Senate Committee

‘Never Waste a Crisis’

February 03, 2010Updates from Roger
by Roger Williams

Most people know that ten years ago, President Bush cut taxes. What most people don’t know is that those same tax cuts are set to expire in 2011.

What does that mean for American taxpayers? It means a huge tax increase is only a year away.

The 2001 Bush tax plan reduced income taxes, capital gains taxes, dividend taxes and the inheritance tax. In other words, it cut taxes on almost everyone who has a job and pays taxes. Once those tax cuts expire, we can all look forward to seeing our taxes go up.

With unemployment in the double digits, health care costs skyrocketing and the economy still in recession, why would anyone want to take more money away from families and businesses? This is a terrible time to raise taxes. Instead, this is the time when we need to be cutting taxes, reducing government spending and encouraging more entrepreneurship and innovation. Remember, after all, the greatest asset America has is Americans, not the federal government.

The Obama administration promised to “never waste a crisis.” And they are proving they meant it. They are using the recession to redistribute wealth and raise taxes. In the budget they proposed just this week, there is a 1 trillion dollar tax increase, part of which come from the expired 2001 Bush tax cuts. With the economic challenges Americans and businesses are facing today, this will all but ensure that less and less people will have the ability to pay taxes. Americans are being set up for failure with this enormous strain on personal incomes. There is something seriously wrong with this approach. Yet another reason we need to send a business leader to Washington to change the way Washington does business.