Michael Bloomberg: 'Just Allow The Bush Tax Cuts To Expire'

A prominent member of the one percent has laid out his opinion on Bush-era tax cuts: It's time to get rid of them, and not just those for the rich either.

New York City Mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg told an audience at the left-leaning Center for American Progress that lawmakers should allow the George W. Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire in 2012, first noted by ThinkProgress. He also said others need to do their part to close the federal deficit too.

After criticizing Republican leaders for not accepting the fact that "we have a serious revenue problem," Bloomberg, officially an Independent, introduced a proposal, saying that it could lead the U.S. to "a pro-growth deficit deal," according to a video posted on ThinkProgress.

Allowing the tax cuts to expire would mean huge savings for the country. Tax cuts for the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans alone cost the U.S. government $11.6 million every hour, according to the National Priorities Project.

"All of us should help carry the load, and there is actually a very straight forward and achievable way to do that," Bloomberg said. "Just allow the Bush tax cuts to expire at the end of 2012 -- not just for high income workers as the president has proposed, but for all tax brackets."

Bloomberg is the latest in a slew of super-rich Americans that have derided tax breaks for themselves. Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett proposed in an August op-ed in The New York Times that lawmakers should tax the super rich at the same or higher rate as middle-class Americans. President Obama ultimately included the so-called "Buffett Rule" in his deficit cutting proposal in September.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, another celebrity billionaire, told ABC News' This Week that he’s "generally in favor of the idea that the rich should pay somewhat more," in taxes than everyone else.

In addition, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, said in an interview with CNBC last month that he supports allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire. Though Greenspan isn't a billionaire, he is a registered Republican.

Bloomberg's comments come as Republican presidential candidates tout their tax proposals and Democratic and Republican party leaders wrangle over the best way to curb the nation's budget deficit. Texas Governor Rick Perry announced last month that if elected president he would cut the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from its current 35 percent.

In addition, Perry would give all tax payers the option of paying a 20 percent flat tax, which would boost taxes on poor and middle-class Americans who opt into the plan.

Herman Cain, another Republican candidate for president, has said that if elected, he would enact a tax plan that would cap the corporate, sales and personal income taxes at 9 percent.

Comments

[frankieshoes1]

07:26 AM on 11/12/2011

There are a lot of pros and cons here but starting somewhere is the key. The arguments on both sides say we are in this together and we need revenue to pay for costly ( if not totally absurd) military actions-we can't get that money back. We can,however, save our social programs and veterans programs by increasing revenue. It's time to tear up the no tax pledge..

[Pantocha]

05:41 PM on 11/11/2011

Expire hell get rid of them right now.

[nevernot]

12:35 PM on 11/10/2011

This just goes to show, the GOP isn't looking out for the interests of the 1% class, but rather the interests of a few specific people in the 1% class. Far more scary, they are taking direction from a few men with impossible wealth. That is not a democratic republic anymore, they are literally destroying the foundation of America.

[intolleft]

12:29 PM on 11/10/2011

Why? The government will just pi ss that away too.

[dmsdzinr]

11:29 AM on 11/10/2011

Thank You Captain OBVIOUS!

[BachmannPalinOverdrive]

10:18 AM on 11/10/2011

It's too bad the truth has no traction. The cost of the Iraq war, coupled with tax decreases and the mortgage crisis, is why we're in the mess we're in. Clinton shares some blame on the mortgage crisis problem. But the trillion dollar war and tax decreases? That's from the dummy who got elected because the lunatic right wing fringe went to the polls to keep the gays from getting married.

[knewsreply]

08:54 AM on 11/10/2011

Tax credits should expire, but there should be a new tax credit for those who make less than $1,000,000 a year and a higher tax on those who make over $1,000,000 a year. Bloomberg and the 1% can’t escape having a tax increase by just letting the tax credits expire. The expiration of the tax credit will affects taxpayers who make under $1,000,000 the hardest, when many of these people are suffering job loss and pay reductions.

[webwzrd]

05:11 AM on 11/10/2011

I think the guy is just stating something obvious to make up for last week's blunder repeating the debunked lie blaming the financial meltdown on CRA and Fannie/Freddie. He got trashed by pretty much EVERYONE for that one.

[Peanut Santiago]

03:29 AM on 11/10/2011

A Repug with a sensible idea?

BTW, with so many Americans getting lower wages....they have less to worry about if they restore the "older" tax rates.

Though I think most low wage Americans would prefer higher salaries and owe more taxes......

[KOSMOCITIZEN]

08:45 PM on 11/09/2011

it is too late now to put the genie back in the bottle
these tax cuts should had been terminated the momment we went to Iraq
the only way these tax cuts are going let to be expired , when there are at least 65 democrats in the senate and 300 democrats in the house
that means it will never happen in this life time

[MarsAmbassador]

08:37 PM on 11/09/2011

Perry's plan to lower corporate tax rates to 20% is fine with me, provided they close each and every single tax loophole that exists, ever has existed or ever could exist for any company with more than $20 million annual revenue. Our total revenue intake from corporations would be MUCH higher than it is now at 35% with just about every corporation out there dodging paying taxes due to these loopholes and lobbyist-written laws.

The GAO reported in 2008 that “two out of every three United States corporations paid no federal income taxes from 1998 through 2005.” And over the past 10 years, 72% of foreign-owned corporations operating in the United States paid either Zero tax or received a tax-payer funded subsidy.

Corporate Taxes as a Percentage of Federal Revenue
1955 . . . 27.3%
2010 . . . 8.9%

Corporate Taxes as a Percentage of GDP
1955 . . . 4.3%
2010 . . . 1.3%

Individual Income/Pay­rolls as a Percentage of Federal Revenue
1955 . . . 58.0%
2010 . . . 81.5%

[cyoohoos]

07:40 PM on 11/09/2011

Obama should have done this last December.

[maxro89]

07:49 PM on 11/09/2011

He is republican, extended 2 years the abominable tax cut of Bush2, don't have forgiven.

[intolleft]

12:31 PM on 11/10/2011

And raise taxes on everyone?

[nypapajoe]

04:19 PM on 11/09/2011

Hurry up before the entire nation takes to the streets!

[hey- einstein]

09:19 PM on 11/09/2011

With all the underground cable and power lines any more where are you gonna string these bankers up? There aren't any poles around Wall Street is there?

[Peanut Santiago]

03:30 AM on 11/10/2011

I am sure we can think of something. {wink}

[TJ Logan]

02:55 PM on 11/09/2011

Bloomberg is the only Republican making any sense these days.

[fiction kills]

03:45 PM on 11/09/2011

Seriously? Is that why he said that "it was not the banks that created the mortgage crisis"? ...because he's making sense? wow. delusional.

[ipv4]

05:01 PM on 11/09/2011

Until he says that the banks had nothing to do with the 2008 implosion of the financial sector.

[Peanut Santiago]

03:30 AM on 11/10/2011

Hey, he said ONE thing that is sensible.

That doesn't mean his other stuff is sensible.

However, he does deserve credit this one time.

[dididangerlove]

02:15 PM on 11/09/2011

Can't happen soon enough.