What Do Extra Tax Breaks for the Rich Cost Women & Families? A Lot.

Happy Tax Day, everyone! When it’s time to pay my taxes, I try hard to focus on all of the important programs and services those dollars support. (You can see exactly how your own federal income taxes are spent using this nifty Tax Receipt from the National Priorities Project.)

But I have to admit – I’m also thinking about the people who make a whole lot more money than I do and get a better deal from the tax code. The fact is, super-rich taxpayers currently benefit much more than ordinary taxpayers like me from many federal income tax deductions and exclusions. For example, for a wealthy taxpayer in the top tax bracket (39.6 percent) who pays $10,000 in mortgage interest, the mortgage interest deduction is worth $3,960. For a middle-income taxpayer in the 15 percent tax bracket who pays the same $10,000 in mortgage interest, the deduction is worth only $1,500.

In his FY 2014 budget, President Obama proposes limiting extra tax deductions and certain exclusions for the richest two percent of American households to 28 percent, so those super-rich taxpayers in the highest tax brackets would get the same tax benefit from deductions and exclusions as a household in the 28 percent tax bracket. This policy would make the tax code fairer and raise needed revenue – an average of $52.9 billion in a year. As NWLC’s new infographic shows, that’s more than the federal government spends annually on housing and energy assistance for low-income families, plus the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants & Children (WIC) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). (Take a look at our new fact sheet for more information.)

The point is clear: It’s time for the richest Americans (and corporations) to pay their fair share.