What are the Bush tax cuts?
The cuts in question are tax changes that were enacted during the Bush administration that dramatically cut income and estate tax rates and revenues. The key bills were passed in 2001 and 2003.
The 2001 tax package was especially sweeping. Its two most prominent changes were a cut in individual income tax rates and a phase-out -- and one-year repeal -- of the estate tax. The top rate for taxpayers in the highest bracket dropped from 39.6% to 35%, while the rate for the next bracket down fell from 36% to 33%.
The 2003 tax cut reduced the income tax rates applied to long-term capital gains and dividends. Prior to 2003, long-term capital gains were taxed at 20 percent, and dividends were taxed at regular income tax rates. The 2003 legislation dropped the rate on most long-term capital gains and dividends to 15 percent.
The Facts of the Debate on Tax Cuts
Greenspan on Tax Cuts - Read or Listen to ALL links on this site.
Video CNBC Taxing the Rich...Will it Work?
Obama on Tax Cuts
Bloomberg Video on Small Bus Confidence- What is article about...do not read, just scan. Watch video.
Assignment:
- Write a comment on both Blog A and Blog B
- Put your First and Last Name at the top of each Blog and Return Comment.
- The state "A" or "B" at the top of your comment.
- Support your comment well. Make intelligent statements...passion is ok.
- Comment on at least two other people's blog. (Try to pick at least one that has not been commented on). Make at least two rebuttals to comments that were made to you about your blog.
You own a small business and your personal salary is $375,000 annually. You want to hire more employees. You want to buy the building next door to you and expand your business by taking over this space. You need all the capital you can get for growth of your business. You want the Bush Tax Cuts extended for everyone. Why?
Blog B
You are a business owner and your business is successful, but you really need to see the economy pick up. You have a salary above $250,000. You want the Bush Tax Cuts to expire or at least for the wealthier. Why?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLorenzo Chun
ReplyDeleteBlog A: If you own a small business and have a salary of $375,000 anually, you would want the Bush Tax Cuts extended for everyone,because you would want less money taken out from your salary. You need all the capital to hire employees and expand your business. The tax cuts will keep the people happy and at least give them some money to spend on the business and increase the income. Since you are making an income of 375,000, it would be devestating if the government only taxed the wealthy because that would cause the more expenses in the capital and slow down the expansion of the business.
Ahmad Nassif
ReplyDeleteBlog A: While owning this small business and having a salary $375,000, you would want the Bush Tax Cuts extended for everyone so you could invest more in your business. You need to have this capital to make your business bigger, better, and stronger. You could also hire more employees and more people will be happy. Also the Bush Tax cuts will allow people to have more money to spend and help your business. In the end everyone will pay an equal tax and your business will become more developed.
Alvin Tran
ReplyDeleteA. If the Bush Tax cuts were extended to everyone you would be getting more income, and more money. Also, you would be getting more customers, and be able to expand your business world wide. It would give people more money to spend, which means more people are spending. Since you're getting more money you can hire more employees, and more people would be happy.
Chase Picco
ReplyDeleteBlog A:
You would want the tax cuts because they make it to where you get a larger percentage of your money earned because you arent losing any to taxes. This leads to you being able to expand you business and hire new employees because you will have more money per capita due to tax relief. The relief can help you with expanding because the recent costs of becoming larger may not have been as profitbale due to high tax, now you can expand because it will be more profitable and cheaper to act on.
Connor Hughes Blogs:
ReplyDeleteBlog A:
The small business owner wants the Bush Tax Cuts to remain in place because if the taxes increase he'll have more money getting sent off to Washington and less to hire new employees for his business, this will drop new job opportuinities and increase unemployment. The taxes being increased would take small business owners hostage and even though it would give the goverment more money, it would hurt the economy greatly and cause some small business to go out of business. If the tax cuts were dropped and taxes raised there would be less people happy about investing and your company would have less money to expand.
Alvin Tran
ReplyDeleteB. You want the economy to pick up so more people can buy your products. If the tax cuts are just expired on the wealthy, or for a while,and there will be more jobs. Also, if we have debt, the government can climb out of it. Even if it's just the wealthy without the tax cuts it would help the economy a lot.
Connor Hughes Blogs:
ReplyDeleteBlog B:
This wealthy entrepenuer wants the Bush tax cuts to expire because if they expire and the wealthy are taxed with the Obama plan, while the other two classes still have low taxes there will be more money in the economy coming in from the wealthy and it will give successful entrepenuers like this individual more money and ability to take loans out in banks in order to expand his business. This extra money in the economy would give small business more money to expand their business and hire more employees, this extra spending would get the economy flowing and people would have extra money to spend on this entrepenuers product.
Blog A
ReplyDeleteLorenzo, Ahmad and Alvin...let's get rid of "happy". There are more discriptive words to define this. Go back and listen or read to more of the postings...these responses are accurate but superficial.
Blog A
Chase...well said, however, you currently have been in business for the past 10 years with this tax relief. Have you not grown your business to generate more capital in this time period?
Blog A
Connor...could summary, however could you expand on "people investing". What do you mean by this, how is this important to your company and how would the extension of the tax cuts affect these investors?
Blog B
Alvin
First sentence, I agree, but second sentence...how will there be more jobs is tax cuts are expanded. I am not doubting your statement...I just am not following the logistics. Third sentence...are you implying that the increased tax rate will affect the debt? Can you explain how?
Blog B
Connor
You have stated some very positive results if the tax cuts are expired for the rich. Give me just a bit more connectivity on exactly how some of these things will occur due to the increased taxation on the top 3% or wealthier class?
Ahmad Nassif
ReplyDeleteBlog B:
He is a successful business man with a succesful business and wants the Bush Tax cuts to expire for the weathly. Now many people would wonder why but they are thinking of a short term effect to expiring the tax cut. Because in reality if we could get our nation out of the debt by the weathly following the obama plan then our government would be more successful. It would be more successful in the long run though because although we give a lot to the government at first it would be worth it because the economy would get better (more effecient) in the long run. This is why this business man wants this Tax cut to expire for the weathly.
Connor Hughes Blogs:
ReplyDeleteBlog A Response:
When people invest they take extra money that is in their possession and buy stocks from companies in the stock market. When a company has a stock bought for them, they have more money at their disposal to expand their business. If the tax cuts are expanded then more people will have more money in their possession to invest in the companies and the stock market.
Alvin Tran
ReplyDeleteAnswer to Mrs. Roessner
Sorry there will not be more jobs when tax cuts are expanded. There will be less jobs. Yes, an increased tax rate will affect debt. Since taxes are being increased than the government will get more money for paying for the debt. Since all the tax goes to the government.
Brianna Oberstar
ReplyDeleteBlog:A
if i had a small business i would want the bush tax cuts to remain because with out them i would be paying more for my taxes and that would make my salary smaller and make it harder for me to hire more employees or expandingn to the next building. if the bush tax cuts were to expire i would eventually lose my business or go in to debt. and if i was getting hired by that business and they told me that my salary was going to be smaller then my previous jobs salary because the tax cuts expired i would not want to work for them.
Connor Hughes Blogs:
ReplyDeleteBlog B Response:
The increased taxation of the wealthy 3% of the population will require those wealthy individuals to give more money to the government. This helps the government and the middle/poor classes because the government is still getting increased income while the middle/poor keep their extra money from the tax cuts and can spend it on other products, thus increasing the GDP and the economy.
Blog A
ReplyDeleteAhmad. How will you know your business will become bigger or better. Number one stop saying happy. Find a word that's more sophisticated like gay, content, or blissful. Please back up your information.
Connor Hughes Comments:
ReplyDeleteLorenzo Chun: I like how you talked about the affects of both sides of the tax issue. It would be better if you could elaborate on how the wealthy would be affected by raising the taxes.
Ahmad Nassif: I liked how you stated the positive affects and helped your audience connect to you with your positive appeal. It would be better if you expanded on why the economy would be more successful.
Ahmad Nassif
ReplyDeleteBlog A response:
Instead of using the word happy we could use the word or words: assured, safer, or content because now when you have been with this company for a while you feel that you are more flexable to do things such as go into that bank account you never used and buy items you wanted. You now feel that you can trust your company with your job.
Lorenzo Chun
ReplyDeleteBlog B:
If you are the a successful business owner and you want the bush tax cuts to expire because only the wealth,whose income go above $250,00, would have to pay taxes greater than the non-wealthy. The taxes would increase the money in the government and help the economy. As a successful business owner you would want the economy to pick up so the bank can be confident to had out loan and help in the expansion of your business. Also more people would get jobs and use their income on your business. Even if the it expired only for the wealthy and you had to pay taxes it will still be beneficial to the business in the future.
Brianna Oberstar
ReplyDeleteBlog:B
To help the economy pick up i would want the tax cuts to expire to the wealthier.this would help the economy because the wealth have alot of money and if they were the ones who had to pay more taxes then it would improve the well being of the economy and make it better for the poor to puchase products because there taxes stay the same. if the tax cuts applied to everyone the economy would go down the toilet even more and the wealthy would be the only ones buying things.
Blog A
ReplyDeleteBrianna- Well you spelled expanding wrong. How do you know you would go into debt? I disagree with your summary.Well why would you not work for them sense your salary getting smaller. Wouldn't everyone salary get smaller?
Alexander Ybarra
ReplyDeleteBlog A: If i had a small business and had a salary of $375,000 anually, i would want the Bush Tax Cuts extended ,because i would want less money taken out of my salary. I would need all the money to hire more employees and expand my business. I think the tax cuts will keep us the poeple happy and give us some money to spend on our business and increase the income. Since i make an income of 375,000, it would be bad if the government only taxed the rich people because that would mean that i would have less money to expand .
Lorenzo Chun
ReplyDeleteBlog A response:
The tax cuts will keep the people satisfied and at give them some money to spend on the business and increase the income.
Blog B
ReplyDeleteLorenzo- Again with the spelling. Its hand out not had out. How do you know this. Can you back this up with evidence? I disagree with your summary.
Chase Picco
ReplyDeleteAnswer to Mrs. Roessner:
You would have gained much more profit in the last 10 years than those preceding them, a smart business owner would use these 10 years to accumulate as much money as they could then invest in expanding before the tax cuts are relieved.
Alek Ortiz
ReplyDeleteBlog A:
If you have a personal salary of 375,000 and you want to expand you want the bush tax cuts remain the same for everyone, because that way you have more money than if they don;t extend them for everyone, therefore you get to expand your business because you get more capital with less taxes being payed that if they expired.
Response to Alvin:
ReplyDeleteBlog A
What you stated was true but can you elaborate on how the people would stay satisfied.
blog A
ReplyDeletejoseph gonzalez
I would want the bush tax cuts extended because it leaves more money to the people to buy products from me and if I buy another building i wouldnt have to pay a lot of taxes buying it. the tax cuts would save me money and i would be able to hire employees.
Chase Picco
ReplyDeleteBlog B:
I would want the tax cuts to expire or atleast be maintained amongst only the wealthy. This would allow some of the more poverish people a time to get back on their feet and even invest if enough money is put together. This would help with business because you will have a larger crowd of lower class being able to purchase products because they arent paying high taxes, while keeping the wealthier classes in the ring to because no matter what they will have money to spend in our market.
Ahmad Nassif
ReplyDeleteResponses:
Alvin..Blog A:
You might want to use a different word than happy such as content or assured. Also elaborate what you mean that you will get more customers. Overall it was good.
Lorenzo..Blog A:
Same with, try a different word than happy. Also in the end you said giving the wealthy the obama plan would slow down business. Here you have a point but think about it in the long run. Because the business' will run pretty slow at first but will get much better as the government and its economy get better.
Response to Connor:
ReplyDeleteBlog B
The middle/poor class and the government will be satisfied with the tax but the rich won't. The rich worked hard for their money so wouldn't be fair to tax them more.
Philip Johnson
ReplyDeleteBlog A: If one owns a small business and is cutting oneself a average salary of $370,000 annually and you want to expand your business you do not want to cut the Bush tax cuts. One would want to have these tax cuts because when you are expanding your business you will need all the capital you can get so one then doesn't want to or be able to pay extra or more taxes and also if the tax cuts are not cut then your customers have more money to spend on your product and service. And if you then don't have to pay extra taxes this will make it easier for you to expand your business and let your customers spend more of their extra cash on our business.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBlog A:
ReplyDeleteIf you owned a small business you would want to keep Bush's tax cut because you would have more income.You would also be getting more customers to expand your business. You would need the capital to expand your small business and hire employees. The tax cuts would give people more money to spend and to spend on your business which would increase the income. I would want Bush’s tax cut to be extended because it would because it would keep the income increasing.
Blog A: When owning the small business and getting a salary $375,000, you would want the Bush Tax Cuts extended for everyone so you could get more out of your business. You need to have a capital to make your business bigger, better, and stronger. One way to help would be hireing more employees and more people will be happy. Also the Bush Tax cuts will allow people to have more money to spend for themselves and it would help your business. by conclution everyone is going to pay an equal tax on your business and it is going to make your business bigger and better.
ReplyDeleteAmanda jaramillo
ReplyDeleteBlog A
Owning a business and having an income of $375,000 you would definitley want to extend the bush tax cuts. With the extended tax cuts you'll still be able to afford and expand your business but without these tax cuts you'll have to pay more taxes meaning less money to hire new employees and expansion of your business. Also, besides helping you out your customers would have money and be able so spend and help the business.
Alek Ortiz
ReplyDeleteBlog B:
If your salary is above 250,000 a year and you have a business you really want the economy to pick up and also the tax cuts to expire for the wealthier because that way the wealthier will make economy better, and the regular people will buy more because they have more money because they don't pay that much taxes.
Alexander Ybarra
ReplyDeleteBlog B:
If I was a successful business owner I would wanted the bush tax cuts to expire because only the rich people,whose income is higher than $250,00,would have to pay more taxes than the poor people. The taxes would help the government and help the economy. Since I am a successful business owner I would want the economy to get better so that the banks can give me loans and not worry about me paying back. And more people would get jobs and use their money on my business.
Eric Woolsey
ReplyDeleteBlog A:
You would want the tax cuts because they make it where you are able get a larger percent of your money earned because you wont be losing any of your money to taxes. This leads you to be able to expand your businesses space and hire new employees because you will have more money soley due to tax relief. The relief can help you with expanding your business because the recent costs of becoming larger and more expansive, may not have been as profitbale due to high tax. Now you are able to expand because it will be more profitable and cheaper to act on based on lower taxes.
Katie Hill
ReplyDeleteBlog A
A small business owner would want the Bush tax cuts to extend for everyone because that way, they small business can get more revenue. The expansion to next door would cost less than it had usually has in recent years. They would get more employees because if everyone had more money, they would get paid more. And if all classes had the same tax cuts, all businesses, big or small, could expand to greater proportions.
blog b
ReplyDeletejoseph gonzalez
i would want the tax cuts expired for the wealthier because they already have a lot of money as it is and i really wouldnt effect the average and poor, so the economy would pick up and not effect the people who wouldnt be able to handle it. the poor and average would be able to spend the same amount of money but if tax cuts expired for them they put less money out into the business's and still economy does no good.
Ben Feicht
ReplyDeleteBlog A
My business would want the tax cuts because that way I would get to use a larger portion of the money made without giving as much to the government. This way, my business could grow by spending said money on new employees, purchasing new capital, and expanding my facilities. When people purchase stock in my company, they will get more money per stock and it would make investing more worth wile. For these reasons, expanding my business would be much more profitable with the Bush Tax Cuts.
Blog B
If the economy improved, you would get more business because more Americans would have the purchasing power to buy your products. The wealthy people’s money would greatly improve the economy if the government took away their Bush Tax Cuts because their money could be used to decrease the national debt because the government would have more money, or the money could be used for entrepreneurs to take out bank loans in order to expand their businesses.
Philip Johnson
ReplyDeleteBlog B: I you were a successful business owner and have an annual salary of over $250,000 and want to see the economy pick up, you would want the tax cuts to be cut. One would want this because by raising the extra capital the government could put a substantial dent in the national debt therefore making the whole economy more positive by restoring strength and value to the US dollar. Also with the taxes raised it would be harder for your competition to build or expand their business and therefore not allowing them to either become as big as your business or to become bigger than your business. So if you owned a small business and didn't want to expand our business you would want the tax cuts cut in order to strengthen the economy and in order to stop your competition from growing.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAlek Ortiz
ReplyDeleteResponse to Phillip Johnson:
Blog A: If you earn 375,000 a year you do want the tax cuts to extend because if they don't then you wont have as much money to spend because your taxes will also increase not just for the regular people so, business would decrease as well as your profit because they're directly related.
Jackson Konetski
ReplyDeleteBlog A: If I are a small business owner making a personal salary of $375,000 then I am considered as upper class. With the limit on the taxes being on all money made above $250,000, I would have to pay the increased taxes. Also all additional taxes put on my business could not be used to employ new employees or purchase the building next door for my expansion. To expand I would have to make more of an income before expantion can occur, but increasing my income would be made harder because of the taxes. With more taxes I would have less money to employ, making it harder to increase income. With extended tax cuts, more people will have money to buy my product and I will have more money to expand and employ more.
Kaleigh Gutierrez
ReplyDeleteBlog A: Being a small business owner, with a salary of $375,000, you would want the Bush tax cuts to be extended for everyone. Having the tax cuts extended would help your business by allowing it to have more money, which gives your business the opportunity to grow and become more profitable. If the government had the Bush tax cuts expire, then you would not be able to hire new employees, increase income, or hire new employees, which would significantly hurt the job market as well.
Amanda Jaramillo
ReplyDeleteBlog B
With the Bush tax cuts expiring the wealthy being taxed extra, it would benefit the economy and help out the lower and middle class. With the increased amount of money, businesses would now be able to take out loans from banks to help the smaller business out.
Jessica Campbell
ReplyDeleteA: As a small business owner, I would want the tax cuts to extend to everybody because that would allow the consumers to have more money to buy my product. With more money coming into my business, I would have more purchasing power for the capital I need to expand my business. The tax cuts would ultimately put more money into my business, which is a good thing.
Alek Ortiz
ReplyDeleteResponse to Phillip Johnson:
Blog B: If you earn 250,000 a year you do want the tax cuts to expire but mainly for the wealthier because that way regular people still pay the same taxes not higher taxes therefore they have more money to spend, while the wealthier people pay more taxes than before to help out the economy.
Katie Hill
ReplyDeleteBlog B
If the tax cuts expired on the wealthy, their tax payments would lessen the debt. Also when the tax cuts renue, more people would have the money to spend and buy your products. They wealthy have the money for tax cuts, when most Americans don't. Poverty in this country will increase because they don't have enough money.
Jessica
ReplyDeletei agree with you. very well said. maybe you could expand a little bit more on you idea. but over all good
Kaleigh Gutierrez
ReplyDeleteResponse to Jessica Campbell:
I agree, but try to elaborate a little more.
Adrian Heredia
ReplyDeleteBlog A
You would want the tax cuts cause It brings more money to everyone else(income) and also the governmet will get more money. You would want the Tax cut cause you could probably want to expand your business. People would want to buy more of my stuff.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePhilip Johnson
ReplyDeleteResponse to Ben Feicht, blog B: Ben, why should only the wealthy come up for the deficits we have write now in our Government? I agree with you how the improved economy could make your business more successful however, what if your small business would be a business that caters to the wealthy such as a high end jeweler, wouldn't your customers be less likely to spend their money in your store if they had more taxes.
Tucker Frazier
ReplyDeleteBlog A: I believe that the business owner wants the tax cuts to stay longer because they will have to pay less tax cuts, because they wouldn't be able to hire as many people for the lesser amount of money. With the tax cuts going away, they would have to pay a lot more of their income for employee's. Then with the tax cuts, your able to get more money and use the money from your income to hire more employees for less money.
Blog B: I don't think a business owner would really want to have the Bush tax cuts to expire, realistically that wouldn't make since, because that is more money out of his pocket. The business owner would want to have the tax cuts because that means more money for him, and that the taxs aren't as bad as they would be without the Bush tax cuts. This does not really make since to me because no one would want to have to pay more taxs. But thats just being realistic.
Jackson Konetski
ReplyDeleteBlog B: Having a successful business, I need new business and costomers to continue to do well. With the economy being down, less people are willing to spend the money they have, creating the economy to go down even more. If taxes were to be raised, more money would be put into the economy giving people more faith in their spending. With that my business will be able to grow and continue being successful.
Blog B:
ReplyDeleteIf you owned a successful business you would want the tax cuts to expire because the wealthy would be paying taxes and seeing how you have an income of over $250,000 you would be tax with Bush’s taxes cuts. Yes you would want the economy to increase because people can buy your products which would result in an increase in income.
Kaleigh Gutierrez
ReplyDeleteBlog B: If you owned a successful business, you would definitely want the tax cuts to at least expire on the wealthy, because if the government doesn't have money-you are not able to respond due to lack of government funds. (Loans, etc.) If tax cuts expire, then when you expand your business, you will open up more jobs which would contribute even more money to the government-and this opens up the possibility of having the tax cuts come back.
Jessica Campbell
ReplyDeleteB: As a business owner needing the economy to pick up, I want the tax cuts to expire for the wealthy because that would put more money into the economy. The government having more money could allow them to create new jobs, giving people more money to spend on your product. This could also give banks more money to give you loans for your business.
Jackson Konetski
ReplyDeleteResponses:
Blog A Eric
very good answer, but you need to expand on how the lower in taxes will help stimulate people's buying desires. this is a large reason why you would get a profit.
Blog A: This business owner in this situation would prefer the tax cuts to be extended so that the 20 percent of profits that would normally be applied to tax would not have to be paid and the money that the owner would save on the tax would go towards opening the new location. Also you would be able to hire more employees to work in the new location and not have to worry about the extra costs
ReplyDeleteBlog B: If the tax cuts were to expire than you would not be being paying as much tax thus you would be able to save most of your income which would be better for yourself as to see that most of your income would not be taxed, and that you would be able to expand your business with that extra money and also expand your yearly income which would only grow larger as the years went by