Communications Director
Email: thelmstetter@americansfortaxfairness.org
Boehner Reverses Course: Says “Everything on the Revenue Side…Has to be Looked at” to Reduce Deficit
Tax Fairness Coalition Urges Him to Prove He Means It By Ending Bush Tax Cuts for Richest 2 Percent
(Washington, D.C. – November 9, 2012) Americans for Tax Fairness challenged House Speaker John Boehner to prove that he means it when he said today that “…everything — everything — on the revenue side and on the spending side has to be looked at” in deficit-reduction negotiations. He can prove it by accepting President Obama’s suggestion today that “Even as we’re negotiating a broader deficit reduction package, let’s extend the middle class tax cuts [on household income below $250,000] right now.”
“As the President said, everyone agrees that we don’t want to raise taxes on 98 percent of Americans who need them,” said Frank Clemente, campaign manager for Americans for Tax Fairness, a diverse campaign of over 225 national, state, and local organizations united in support of a tax system that works for all Americans, starting with ending the Bush tax cuts for the richest 2 percent.
“President Obama put his leadership on the line on this issue,” added Clemente. “Speaker Boehner needs to respect the will of the voters and exercise leadership himself by getting the House of Representatives to pass the Senate bill to extend the Bush tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans and end them for the richest 2 percent. The wealthy do not need more tax breaks and we simply can’t afford them.”
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office yesterday concluded that extending the Bush tax cuts for the richest 2 percent would boost the economy by less than 0.25%. Ohio Congressman Steve LaTourette told CNN today that a survey by GOP pollster Frank Luntz showed that “35 percent of Republicans said they would forgive somebody who broke the Grover Norquist tax pledge if it actually balanced the budget.”
Election Day exit poll data showed that 60 percent of voters supported either ending the Bush tax cuts for those Americans who make more than $250,000 a year or ending them for everyone. In addition, ananalysis by the Center for American Progress’ Think Progress shows that voters punished manycandidates and incumbents who signed the pledge to super corporate lobbyist Grover Norquist never to raise taxes on the wealthy few or corporations by even a penny, even to close loopholes.
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Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) is a diverse campaign of over 225 national, state, and local organizations united in support of a tax system that works for all Americans. It has come together based on the belief that the country needs comprehensive, progressive tax reform that results in greater revenue to meet our growing needs. This starts by ending the Bush-era tax breaks for the richest 2 percent and by making critical investments that create and sustain jobs while taking a balanced approach to addressing America’s fiscal challenges.