A few Tax Party opinion signs

Announcing his 2011 budget proposal back in February, President Obama asserted that the government cannot spend as if deficits go without consequence, nor as if American tax-dollars are “Monopoly money.” But, as tax day arrives, many are questioning whether the president will keep his word, or default on a promise. While Tea Party supporters shout “Taxed Enough Already” until their voices crack, some are utterly stupefied by how such people ignore the figures surrounding the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – aka the stimulus package -which recieves partial credit for for 2009’s record-breaking tax refunds, and a sixty-year low in federal taxes (a figure put forth by William Gale, co-director of the Tax Policy Center and director of the Retirement Security Project at the Bookings Institution.

Wrong, the budget crises is no kryptonite.

So, what does Obama have planned for our hard-earned money? Well, by the close of 2010, Americans are likely to see: A raise of the top two income tax brackets from 33 to 36 percent, and 35 to 39.6 percent; A raise in the capital gains tax rate from 15 to 20 percent – along with an increased tax on dividend income from 15 to 20 percent – for married couples with incomes exceeding 250k.

From these figures, it’s difficult to understand where the protestors get their information; after all, Gerald Prante, a senior economist for the non-partisan research organization, Tax Foundation, admitted that the increases will only reflect upon 2 to 3 percent of the year’s total tax returns.