Tea Party Rhetoric Not In Line With Tax Reality

(Casper Star Tribune)

http://www.trib.com/news/opinion/forums/article_d839c6b6-9481-55fa-b7d4-a87d1168a01c.html

By Brianna Jones

This week thousands of Wyoming residents filed their tax returns, and almost every one of those people, 98 percent in fact, benefited from one of the largest tax cuts in American history. The legislation responsible, the Recovery Act, passed through Congress last year without support from any members of Wyoming’s congressional delegation, who represent one of the most fiscally conservative states in the nation.

In Wyoming we have seen the effects of the legislation first-hand as recovery funds covered the cost of increased Medicaid enrollments for the Department of Health, and we averted tuition raises for our college students. In total nearly $512 million was spread across Wyoming to fix our highways, help out local schools, and keep our economy from sinking into depression. What many people don’t realize, but will be pleased to learn, is that the Recovery Act also significantly reduced Wyoming residents’ federal tax burden.

The Recovery Act is not only helping in those ways, it is also succeeding in reviving the economy. Because the act injects capital across the board, the private sector, public sector and consumer are all receiving incentives to participate in the economy in their own vital ways. Despite ideological differences, economists from both sides of the aisle acknowledge that the act is moving the economy in the right direction.

Workers, families, small businesses, students, and people who lost their jobs are just a few examples of those who saw lower taxes in 2009. There are tax incentives for small businesses, tax breaks for improvements to low-income housing programs, credits to help pay for higher education, tax assistance to maintain health insurance for people who lose their jobs, tax credits for first-time home buyers, and much more.

One of the most significant tax credits does not come in the form of a return for most people, but instead it lowers the federal income withholding taken from their paychecks. What this translates to is more take-home income that can be used to cover rent, buy groceries, and pay medical bills. Under the credit, Making Work Pay, individuals with an income less than $70,000 will receive $400 more in pay, and working families earning less than $150,000 will receive $800 more each year.

Despite rhetoric from "tea party" supporters claiming higher taxes as their rallying point, nearly all the protesters are beneficiaries of the tax cuts. That’s right, tax cuts, sweeping tax cuts. Ultimately 98 percent of Wyomingites saw an average of $1,082 more this year, according to Citizens for Tax Justice. Across America average tax returns are 10 percent higher.

This week at a town hall meeting in Casper, Rep. Cynthia Lummis claimed that 50 percent of Americans are not paying their income taxes. According to the Congressional Budget Office 90 percent of Americans pay federal taxes. What I believe she was getting at is that taxes have been lowered. And though she may be loathe to admit it, taxes were lowered through the Recovery Act. William Gale, head of the Tax Policy Center at the Brookings Institution, told CBS News that federal taxes are "at their lowest levels in 60 years." Gail said, "The relation between what is said in the tax debate and what is true about tax policy is often quite tenuous. The rise of the Tea Party at a time when taxes are literally at their lowest in decades is really hard to understand."

What one can conclude and celebrate is that the severe strain brought about by the recession on the middle class is finally being addressed and reduced. The only question that remains is: why is there such stark opposition from Wyoming’s congressional delegation, the tea party movement, and the Republican Party to initiatives that lower taxes and work to reform the financial system to ensure that a recession like this cannot happen again?

Brianna Jones is the communications director for the Wyoming Democratic Party.