Paul Ryan's Budget Plan Could Raise Middle Class Taxes, Says Panel - East Idaho News
Business & Money

Paul Ryan’s Budget Plan Could Raise Middle Class Taxes, Says Panel

  Published at

GETTY B 020812 TaxForm?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1344941108289Creatas/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — While Mitt Romney would reportedly pay less than 1 percent of his income in taxes under Paul Ryan’s previous tax plan, most Americans making less than $200,000 would see a tax hike under the budget Ryan proposed before he was selected to be Romney’s running mate.

Most of Romney’s income is comprised of interest income, capital gains and dividends, which are not taxed under the plan Ryan first introduced in 2010.

Ryan proposed two tax rates, 10 and 25 percent, instead of the current 6 percent.

The House Republican budget for the 2013 fiscal year, passed by the House in June, would raise taxes by $1,358 for jointly-filing households earning between $50,000 and $100,000, assuming the additional income is taxed at a 10 percent rate, according to a report published earlier this summer by the Joint Economic Committee of Congress.

Households with incomes between $100,000 and $200,000 would see their taxes increase by $2,681, the Joint Economic Committee said.

Rep. Ryan’s office did not return a request for comment.

The committee reported Ryan’s budget plan would give the richest Americans — those who make over $1 million — a tax break of about $300,000.

According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, Ryan’s budget plan would make the Bush tax breaks permanent, including the extra tax cuts on taxable household income above $250,000, and would cut the top tax rate paid by the wealthiest Americans and the corporate income tax rate by nearly 30 percent.

Americans for Tax Fairness Action, a left-leaning political group, criticized Ryan for giving tax breaks to millionaires and ending the Medicare guarantee.

“The bottom line is that our tax system is rigged in favor of the wealthy and big corporations who play by their own set of rules,” said Sean Crowley, communications director for Americans for Tax Fairness Action.  “The tax system is not working for most Americans.  The richest already get the biggest tax breaks.  It’s not fair and we need to radically overhaul our tax system.”

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

SUBMIT A CORRECTION