Just saw this on the Pederson webpage, thought it was hillarious. How out of touch can these guys go?
http://www.pederson2006.com/...
PHOENIX -- A column in yesterday's Washington Post outlined the upcoming Senate vote on the "Paris Hilton Relief Act," otherwise known as the estate tax repeal. The columnist wrote that the repeal of the tax "is like erecting protectionist barriers around the hereditary elite. It is anti-meritocratic and unfair -- and antithetical to this nation's best traditions." In fact, three of the four presidents atop of Mount Rushmore were proponents of taxing inherited wealth.
Yet Washington politician Jon Kyl is leading the charge on the "Paris Hilton Relief Act," despite all the other substantive issues out there that the vast majority of Americans feel are more important - Iraq, gas prices, healthcare costs - than more tax relief for millionaires and billionaires.
The Truth about Jon Kyl's "Paris Hilton Relief Act"
Kyl's "Paris Hilton Relief Act" would drastically raise the thresholds at which the estate tax kicks in to $5 million per individual and $10 million per couple, while slashing the estate tax rate from 46% to 15%.
* With Jon Kyl's compromise, the government would lose up to 84 percent of the revenue it would lose under a full repeal, costing taxpayers up to $800 billion. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that Kyl's compromise would cost taxpayers up to $800 billion from 2012 to 2021, which is 80 to 84 percent as much as full repeal would cost. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 9/22/05]
* 96 percent of Kyl's estate tax plan will benefit estates valued at $5 million or more. [Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center]
* Under Kyl's plan, the "effective tax rate" for the wealthiest estates will only be 6 percent. "The "effective" tax rate for estates subject to estate taxes -- i.e., the share of the estate that would actually be paid in taxes -- is well below the top tax rate. A key reason for this is that estate taxes are due only on the portion of an estate's value that exceeds the exempted amount." [Center for Budget and Policy Priorities]
* Kyl's plan would be a boon for oil and gas CEOs. If the estate tax is permanently repealed, the CEOs of the five largest oil companies are likely to receive a windfall of up to $211 million. ExxonMobil CEO, Lee Raymond, alone could receive a tax break of over $160 million. [House Committee on Government Reform, Democratic Staff, 5/30/06]
* Kyl's plan could cripple charitable giving. A 2000 study by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office found that, with no estate tax, charitable donations would be as much as $25 billion lower. [Congressional Budget Office]
Pederson's campaign seems to be doing much better these days but I wish they would focus more on Iraq as funny as this "Paris Hilton Relief Act" is.