. . .a provision buried in the Bush administration’s tax reform plans.
According to a very well-connected economist who is meeting just about every one with the word “economic” in his or her administration title, the administration is planning to disallow the exemption on federal taxes allowed now for state income taxes paid.
This is a brilliantly devious way for the Bush crowd to punish blue state taxpayers because tax rates in blue states are higher than red — and the financial burden will be carried by those in the northeast and on the west coast far more than all of those who put George Bush back into the White House for another four years.
I am hopeful that even though red state tax payers will see their blue state brethren carrying a disproportionate share of new federal tax burden, those in the red will still see that they too will be paying higher taxes under this provision as their own state tax payments will be disallowed as a deduction.
Happiness (or its alternative) is a function of relative deprivation — even if red state relative deprivation is less than blue state.
I can’t and won’t mention the source of this information as I hope he/she continues to have White House access and feeds me more such info.
— Steve Clemons
