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Groups who advocated for the IRS to prepare tax returns sure look foolish these days: http://t.co/oKvpIofu7Y
May 13, 2013 06:30 PM
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"We don't need the federal government mandating additional taxes..." -@MarshaBlackburn on MFA: http://t.co/lAuLJtr5t3 #NoNetTax
May 13, 2013 06:00 PM
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Health insurers and businesses are already feeling the iron-clad grip of regulations in #Obamacare: http://t.co/J6dfnKqFYZ
May 13, 2013 05:30 PM
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Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell Signs Largest Tax Hike in Virginia History into Law http://t.co/Qd6KOFfaPv
May 13, 2013 03:46 PM
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Under #Obamacare, mothers have had a tougher time purchasing non-prescription, over-the-counter medicine: http://t.co/dJuaGAT9LE
May 13, 2013 02:01 PM
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9 out of 20 #Obamacare tax hikes have not even been implemented yet: http://t.co/opFkyf1guJ
May 13, 2013 01:30 PM
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.@GroverNorquist on MFA: "[The Senate] didn't ask all of the questions that needed to be asked": http://t.co/wXfkIR2Ca9 #NoNetTax
May 13, 2013 01:01 PM
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"When architects of #Obamacare are worried about it creating a trainwreck, you know something's gone terribly wrong": http://t.co/J6dfnKqFYZ
May 13, 2013 12:30 PM
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Conservative and Free Market Groups Applaud Move to Delay a Vote on Gina McCarthy: http://t.co/lNQYmJAB12 #EPA
May 13, 2013 12:02 PM
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The #Obamacare train wreck will derail the American economy: http://t.co/opFkyf1guJ
May 13, 2013 11:30 AM
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Retroactive Tax Hikes Are Unfair, Should Be Off the Table in Supercommittee
The Supercommittee should look at spending cuts, not taxes. Should it look at taxes, it should not look to retroactively raise anyone's taxes.
ATR has long said that the so-called "Congressional Supercommittee" should focus entirely on spending cuts. After all, Washington's problem is that it spends too much money, and you don't solve that by raising taxes. That's why we've advised the Supercommittee members to avoid taxes as a topic at all.
Should the Supercommittee decide to look at taxes, it should avoid net tax increases at all costs. If the Supercommittee reports a net tax hike, it will probably be a violation of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge and will certainly be opposed by Americans for Tax Reform.
Finally, should the Supercommittee decide to look at taxes in a revenue-neutral way, we have said there are some tax changes which should be off the table. The capital gains tax rate should not be hiked, for instance. Another basic idea is that retroactive tax hikes should be avoided.
There are fewer things more unfair that the government can do than to retroactively hike someone's taxes. It's grossly unfair for families and businesses to make decisions with the tax consequences in mind only for Congress to change its mind when it's too late to do any differently. This bait-and-switch offends basic principles of good government. In fact, the U.S. Constitution prohibits "ex post facto" laws for just this reason.
The Supercommittee should follow the lead of the Founding Fathers and basic common sense by avoiding any retroactive tax increases, even in the context of revenue-neutral tax reform. They simply aren't fair.
What do you think? Should Congress be able to retroactively raise taxes?
Posted by Ryan Ellis 
on Monday, October 24, 2011 4:09 PM EDT
on Monday, October 24, 2011 4:09 PM EDTTo follow Ryan Ellis's RSS feed click here. To follow them on Twitter, their handle is @ryanlellis
