Now that I have completed two debate tournaments on the topic, I feel that I have accumulated enough knowledge to explain the theories behind raising taxes or keeping them the same level as the 2003 level that President Bush imposed.
Raising Income Taxes
1) Need to raise revenue to cut our deficit and debt (not the same thing but intertwined)
-Increased revenue is only one part of the solution, but it is a vital part of the solution, tax cuts of 2003 accounts for almost 60% of our current budget deficit because of lack of revenue
2) Help the Government Stimulate the Economy
- Government money will be spent right away, while consumers saved their money rather than spent it after getting the tax reduction in 2003, not helping the economy
3) Raising Taxes Has Worked in the Past
-Clinton era, there were deficits and they raised taxes and helped stimulate the economy
Can’t Raise Income Taxes
1) Need to Keep Money in the Pockets of the Consumers
-Consumers spend into the big corporations which increases revenue for the government through corporate taxes, consumers are spending the money for vital programs
2) Raising Taxes Wouldn’t Have the Greatest Effect
- 50% of Americans don’t pay income taxes, so by increasing the amount that consumers pay in income taxes the government isn’t actually increasing revenue by that much, in order to actually fix the problem a policy that will have a bigger effect is needed
3) Not the Time to Do it Now (2012)
- FICA taxes are already increasing for consumers and revenue is being raised in this way, so we need to keep money in the hands of the people so that they can spend it and feel secure with their investments because so much of the economic growth is how confident the consumers are in investing in the market
Hopefully you understand a little bit more about taxes now. Of course, there are rebuttals to all of these arguments, and feel free to bring these up in the comments section.
