A Taxing Christmas

| Westmoreland | Opinion | Taxes | Home

12/16/07 (7:09 p.m.) At the time of year when we want to have the giving spirit of Tiny Tim in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” Americans pinched by the rising cost of living might feel more like the Dickensian orphan Oliver Twist.

How’s this for the 2007 Christmas list: Higher gasoline and home-heating oil prices than ever? Check. Rising mortgage rates? Check. Rising college charges? Check. Double digit increases in health care costs? Check. Mounting personal debt? Check. Worries about job stability? Check.

The American family enters this holiday season with a good deal of anxiety, and understandably so.

For every problem facing the American family this holiday season, the Democrats’ gift idea is higher taxes, more regulation and bigger government. Eggnog, anyone?

I have opposed these wrong-headed policies at every turn. Higher federal taxes on working families mean even less money in your pocket for food, gas and health care. Higher taxes on small businesses mean fewer jobs.

The House Democrats this year passed what quickly became known as the “Mother of All Tax Hikes.” The legislation would impose a 4 percent surcharge on incomes more than $150,000 ($200,000 for couples), in addition to allowing the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts to expire. Further, the bill raises the top tax rate in the country from 35 percent to 44 percent, affecting 10 million tax filers directly.

The pain of these whopping tax hikes will ripple throughout the economy. These taxes hit our small businesses, the little engines that could when it comes to job creation.

The House farm bill this year pays for its pork spending with new taxes on foreign companies that “insource” – that is, invest in the United States and create good-paying jobs. Democrats sell this tax as a free lunch. But the reality the new levies hit companies that employ more than 5 million Americans, including 170,000 Georgians. The average pay of these jobs is more than $63,000 and Georgia has proved an attractive location for foreign investors.

The same wrong-headed logic was applied to the so-called energy bill that recently passed the House. First, it’s misnamed because it will lead to no new energy. Second, it discourages domestic production by imposing new taxes on American energy companies. Here’s a simple equation: No new production plus higher production costs equals higher consumer costs for gasoline and home heating oil. Just put on another sweater, Grandma.

Obviously, there’s never a good time to raise taxes, but it’s irresponsible to do it during a time of economic anxiety. We can secure Americans’ pocketbooks for both today and tomorrow by creating better opportunities through job creation and bigger paychecks. The best thing the government can do for that is simply get out of the way.

Because of the economic expansion we’ve had following the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, our tax revenues are the highest in history. Georgia’s taxpayers are forking over quite enough to Washington already.

So far, after a year of Democratic rule in the House and Senate, we Republicans have managed to keep the tax hikes from becoming law. When it comes to letting taxpayers keep more of their own money as they face a rising cost of living this Christmas season, it’s easy to see in Washington who’s been naughty and who’s been nice.

Lynn Westmoreland represents Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District.