In August 2009, President Barack Obama was very clear that we shouldn’t raise taxes during a recession.
But that was back in 2009.
Barack Obama is now committed to ending the Bush tax cuts and raising taxes on millions of Americans.
FOX 8 reported:
A top adviser for President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign said Sunday the president was entirely dedicated to ending the so-called Bush tax cuts for the wealthy at the end of this year.
“He is 100% committed to it,” Robert Gibbs said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Obama signed a bill in 2010 to extend the Bush-era tax cuts, citing the need for economic stimulus at the time, but has since vowed he would not permit another extension.
The tax breaks are set to expire in what’s known as the “fiscal cliff,” a package of spending cuts and removal of tax breaks that will take place on January 1 if Congress fails to act. In total, $7 trillion could be taken out from the economy.
Tax breaks that would end include the Bush tax cuts, middle class protection from the Alternative Minimum Tax, and more than 50 “temporary” tax breaks for individuals and businesses that have been on the books for years.
For its part, the White House has proposed raising taxes on the very wealthy as a way to help make a dent in the federal deficit.