Glenn Hubbard, Mitt Romney’s top economic adviser, now says the wealthy need to pay more in taxes as part of a budget settlement.
“Obviously, we would be better in my view if we didn’t raise taxes on anyone, and we did everything on the spending side,” The Columbia University business school dean said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” according to
Politico.
But, “We just had an election. We’re going to have to have some compromise. And I think step one is to figure out how to raise some revenue without killing the economy.”
Editor's Note The IRS’ Worst Nightmare — How to Pay Zero Taxes
President Barack Obama has proposed raising taxes by $1.6 trillion over the next 10 years, including an increase in rates for those with annual income of more than $200,000.
Hubbard, like most other Republicans, says any additional tax revenue should come from limiting deductions and exemptions rather than increasing tax rates. He said higher taxes on the wealthy are no panacea for the government’s exploding debt burden.
“If you raise every tax on the rich that the president has proposed, it’s about 1 percent of GDP,” Hubbard said. “But our long-term problems are more like 10 percent of GDP. And we know from people who have studied fiscal consolidations that they are really all about spending cuts.”
© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.