A Proposal To Solve The Fiscal Cliff Problem

To the Hon. Speaker of the House, John Boener
To House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Peloisi
To Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
To Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
To The President of the United States, Barack Obama

Dear Sirs and Madam,

As a concerned citizen of our country's wellbeing, I would like to put forth a proposal which may give some direction to the looming talks of December to avoid the automatic tax expirations and the automatic spending cuts as mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2010.

1) Republicans voice concerns that the automatic return to the 39.6% tax rate would hurt small businesses who file as s-corps.  So, in response to that concern, keep the 35.6% tax rate, and increase it's threshold to $750,000, then create a tax rate of 38.6% with a threshold of $750,000.01 to $1,250,000.00.  And finally one last tax threshold of $1,250,000 or more, of 41.6%.  That way the truly wealthy do pay a fair share, and the small businesses are protected.

2)  Furthermore, increase the investment in equipment and research in business deduction to $1,000,000.00.

3)  Create a streamlined wage deduction which allows businesses to deduct up to $100,000.  This deduction's maximum is including wages, cash value of benefits, cash value of PTO/Vacation/Berevement, and other similar benefits.  At the same time, remove the hiring tax credits.

4)  Remove the property tax deduction on incomes of $750,000/year and above.

5)  Remove the sales tax deduction on incomes of $750,000/year and above.

6)  Begin a phaseout of the oil and gas subsidies over a period of 10 years, where the subsidy diminishes 25% to start then 8% per year until the year 2022.

7)  Remove Education tax credits and deductions for income earners of $750.000/year or higher.

8)  Create a minimum tax rate for all personal incomes earned beyond $1.25m per year and fix it at 35%, essentially fixing the rate for all incomes over that amount.

9)  Tax capital gains income as income, but do not subject it to taxation at the corporate level.  Allow it to be paid out first then taxed.  Capital gains and investment income should be counted as pre-tax income and treated as a liability like you would paying debt to creditors instead of returns on investment.  End the double-taxation on dividends.

10)  Increase the Federal Poverty line to $20,000 per year for a single person, then $7,800 per child, or $30,000 per year for two adults and $7,800 per child.

11)  Change business regulation which would require that all businesses with pre-tax earnings over $250,000 per year file a separate business return, and not as an S-corp.

12)  Remove the Mortgage deduction for incomes over $750,000

13)  Impose a 0.05% speculation tax on derivatives and futures purchases.

14)  Consolidation of Tax Credits for Education into a single program with broader qualifications.

I think just a few these suggestions would satisfy both sides' objections.