Politico is reporting that there is a surcharge in the new Republican tax plan for high income earners. As described,
“Thanks to a quirky proposed surcharge, Americans who earn more than $1 million in taxable income would trigger an extra 6 percent tax on the next $200,000 they earn—a complicated change that effectively creates a new, unannounced tax bracket of 45.6 percent.”
But in the new plan, House Republicans want to claw back some of that benefit for individuals who earn more than $1 million, or couples earning more than $1.2 million.
Here’s how it would work: After the first $1 million in taxable income, the government would impose a 6 percent surcharge on every dollar earned, until it made up for the tax benefits that the rich receive from the low tax rate on that first $45,000. That surcharge remains until the government has clawed back the full $12,420, which would occur at about $1.2 million in taxable income. At that point, the surcharge disappears and the top tax rate drops back to 39.6 percent. This type of tax is sometimes called a “bubble tax,” because the marginal tax rate effectively bubbles up for a brief period before falling back to a lower level.”
Besides the obvious frustration that the GOP plan did not restore the Bush tax cuts and roll back the highest bracket permanently to 35% , having yet another surcharge on the wealthy is inexcusable. The Republicans can do better, and yet they succumb to the class warfare rhetoric that the rich must “pay their fair share.” Hopefully this will be eliminated in the final bill that gets voted on.