Tax Cuts Come With Heavy Price Tag Says Pressure Group

by Leroy Baker, Tax-News.com, New York

26 September 2003

In a critique of President Bush's tax and borrowing policies, the pressure group Citizens for Tax Justice have released a study that concludes America's families will pay a high price in the future as a result of the country's mounting debt levels.

"Everyone knows that Bush’s tax cuts are heavily tilted towards the very wealthy," said Robert S. McIntyre, director of Citizens for Tax Justice. "But we also need to keep in mind that the rest of us will pay dearly for those upper-income tax cuts, as we confront our share of the giant debt that Bush is building up."

McIntyre contends that the economic policies pursued by the Bush administration in recent years will add $87 billion to the national debt every 51 days and add an estimated $3.8 trillion to the debt burden over the fiscal period 2002 to 2007 according to Congressional Budget Office figures. "For all but the very richest Americans, that enormous added debt burden will dwarf any paltry tax cuts they’ll receive," claims McIntyre.

According to the report, over this six year period, even after accounting for the President's tax cuts, the debt explosion will equate to an additional $9,456 for every man, woman and child in America in additional debt, or over $37,826 per family of four.

Other findings reported in the study included:

• By state, the average net burden of Bush’s policies ranges from a high of $40,133 per family of four in Maryland to a low of $34,525 in Wyoming.
• In total dollars, California is the biggest loser from Bush’s policies, with a net cost over six years of $342.5 billion.
• For the middle 20 percent of taxpayers in each state, the average net burden of Bush’s tax and budget policies will average $10,600 per family member nationwide. The range is from a high of $12,846 per middle-income family member in Massachusetts to a low of $8,499 per family member in Utah.

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