Rangel Introduces 'mother Of All Reforms'

By Josephine Hearn

(The Politico)   It was the “mother" of all pile-ons, as Republicans slammed House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel’s long-awaited tax bill.

The venerable New York Democrat finally introduced his $1 trillion legislation Thursday — affectionately called the “mother of all reforms,” since it’s said to be the largest reform of the tax code since 1986.

As expected, Rangel’s proposal would eradicate the alternative minimum tax — a levee expected to hit 24 million middle- and upper-income Americans this year — and cut the top corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 30.5 percent. It would also expand the child tax credit, standard deduction and earned income-tax credit for low-income families.

The costs will be offset by a 4 percent surtax on taxpayers earning more than $150,000 a year — $200,000 for couples — and by closing various corporate tax “loopholes.”

Another $48 billion will be raised by increasing taxes paid by hedge funds, venture capitalists, private equity managers, and other types of partnerships will also increase from 15 percent to 35 percent and limiting the executives’ ability to defer compensation tax-free offshore.