Obama Looking to Stick the Wealthy With Even More Taxes

His second term in office is winding down, but President Obama would still like to raise taxes on high net worth individuals before he checks out of the White House at the beginning of next year. Although the president has already taken several measures to raise the effective tax rate on the wealthy, he is calling for even higher taxes on high net worth individuals, as well as big banks.

The president’s proposal includes yet another hike on capital gains. He has already raised the capital gains tax rate to 20 percent, but now he would like to push it all the way to 28 percent. The plan also calls for millionaires to pay at the very least 30 percent of their income to the government. He’s also proposing a new fee “on the largest financial firms on the basis of their liabilities.”

The reasons for the proposed tax hikes include funding the fight against ISIS, as well as supporting the president’s healthcare and education initiatives. As is to be expected, republicans have already harshly criticized the president’s proposals. In fact the budget committees from both the Senate and the House said there would be no discussion with the president’s budget director about the president’s proposed budget.