Economists and tax policy experts agree that the Bush tax cuts disproportionally benefited the wealthy – the wealthiest 1 percent received 38 percent of the tax breaks. Now Tim Pawlenty has a new proposal, which would further cut taxes for the wealthy by nearly a third. It takes tax policies that were unfair and lopsided in the first place and makes them worse.
His plan is enough to make President Bush look like Robin Hood.
Here are the facts about the tax cuts enacted by President Bush between 2001 and 2008, according to the Economic Policy Institute:
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In 2010, the top 1 percent of earners (incomes over $645,000) received 38 percent of the breaks in the 2001-08 tax changes; 55 percent went to the top 10 percent of earners (incomes over $170,000);
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The top 0.1 percent of earners (incomes over $3 million) received an average tax cut of roughly $520,000, more than 450 times larger than the share received by an average middle-income family;
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In 2010, tax filers in the bottom 20 percent of the income distribution (incomes less than $20,000) received only a 1 percent share of the tax cuts, and 75 percent of these low-income families saw no reduction at all;
- The middle 20 percent—incomes between $40,000 and $70,000 a year—received only 11 percent of the tax cuts.
Tim Pawlenty's economic plan draws on these under-performing and disproportionate economic policies of the Bush years and shoves them off a cliff. Forbes economic columnist called Pawlenty’s plan “the Bush tax cuts on steroids.
The chart below shows the tax windfall Tim Pawlenty would give to the wealthiest Americans compared to the Bush tax cuts, which as shown above, already benefit the wealthy.
When considering Tim Pawlenty’s tax plan, one of two possibilities exist – and both are telling.
First, Tim Pawlenty is driven by ideology with absolute disregard for the facts. Or second, this tax plan represents Tim Pawlenty’s priorities and middle- and working-class families are on their own.