Key Vote No: H.R. 4853 So-Called Middle Class Tax Relief Act

Dear Senator,

On behalf of over a million FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to vote no on H.R. 4853, the so-called Middle Class Tax Relief Act that fails to extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts to all Americans. If passed, millions of Americans who earn more than $200,000 annually will see their taxes rise on January 1st, 2011. We must work towards a full extension of the beneficial 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.

On Friday, the Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent in November. Raising taxes, on anyone, will further stifle economic growth. Nearly two-thirds of job creating small businesses will be taxed at an increased rate of 39.6 percent. As a result, employers will have less to invest in expanding their business by creating new jobs. All Americans will feel the negative consequences of the 13 percent tax increase on so-called rich Americans.

Soak the “rich” policies have never worked in anyone’s favor. We should instead follow President John F. Kennedy’s advice. While the federal government faced a budget deficit, Kennedy favored “an across-the-board, top-to-bottom cut in personal and corporate income taxes.” In the end, high tax rates discourage production. Why take an enormous risk with your capital if the government takes away nearly 40 percent of your potential profit?

Lawmakers hope to raise taxes on so-called rich Americans in order to cover up the budget shortfall that was created by runaway government spending. But this simply will not work. As President Kennedy said, “reducing taxes is the best way open to us to increase revenues.” Raising taxes on anyone is a lose-lose situation.

In this economic climate, we cannot afford to raise taxes on any American. We urge all Senators to vote against any piece of legislation that fails to extend all of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.

We will count your cloture vote on H.R. 4853, Middle Class Tax Relief Act, as a KEY VOTE when calculating the FreedomWorks Economic Freedom Scorecard for 2010. The Economic Freedom Scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the Jefferson Award, which recognizes members of Congress with voting records that support economic freedom.

Sincerely,

Matt Kibbe
President and CEO
FreedomWorks             
[Click here for PDF version of this letter.]