March 6, 2008 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last year, House Democrats proposed what was then the biggest tax increase in American history.  Today, according to U.S. Rep. Bill Sali (R-ID), “The Democrats have outdone themselves in prosing ‘The Largest Tax Increase In History: The Sequel.’  This is like a really bad horror movie, but sadly, it’s real.” 

Sali noted that the almost incalculable tax hike is being accompanied by billions of dollars in record deficit spending.  “The bottom half of this double feature is almost as bad as the first,” said Sali.  “It’s too bad Oscar season is over.  If this budget plan were a movie, it would win an Academy Award for bad policy, bad planning and bad economics.” 

The tax increases are contained in a sweeping budget blueprint covering the 2009 fiscal year which starts Oct. 1.

The proposal would raise taxes by $683 billion over five years, including higher taxes on married couples and small businesses. The proposal also includes no permanent fix for the Alternative Minimum Tax, threatening to burden unsuspecting middle income Americans which amounts to $70 billion in new taxes. Additionally, the budget plan does nothing to protect seniors or low-income families who depend on Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid over the long term. These programs are expected to be more than $50 trillion dollars in debt by 2013, and unable to support those seniors who have been paying into the programs for years.  This amounts to $450,000 for every American family.

“Taxes are too high, government programs are broken, and how does the Democrat leadership respond? By proposing higher taxes and more programs. Congress has decided to put together a tax-and-spend package that’s going to cost 116 million taxpayers an average $1,833 each. What’s worse, this Congress is so fixated on increasing the tax burden, it has done nothing to reform entitlement programs that are on the verge of breaking the bank in just a few short years.

“Americans are upset that Congress has done nothing to fix our immigration problems. They’re upset that Congress is enacting policies that will result in rising gas prices. They’re upset that Congress has yet to address a loophole in our national security so that we can monitor and stop terrorist plots against us. The budget unveiled by the Democrat leadership adds insult to injury, and further darkens the reputation of a Congress that has been in operation for more than a year and has virtually nothing to show for it.  At the box office of public opinion, this proposal is a bomb,” Sali concluded.