Whats a fair tax policy?
For Obama to keep his campaign promise, the tax cuts would be extended for all but the wealthy. Cuts made in 2001 for the top two tax brackets would be allowed to expire on schedule. Democrats say it’s only fair, because the wealthy pay a lot less now proportionately than they used to, and they have reaped the greatest benefits from the Bush cuts. Republicans say that’s bad economics: It will hurt small businesses and kill jobs. Economists are divided. Corporate taxes. The top marginal tax rate for U.S. corporations is nearly 40 percent, among the highest in the developed world. Critics say the best way to create jobs would be to lower it. But others say the picture is not quite what it seems. They say that with exemptions, credits and deferrals, many companies pay much less than the rate suggests, and some pay none at all. State fiscal woes. The states are broke, too, many of them struggling with billion-dollar budget gaps. And unlike the feds, they can’t print money. So they have clo
