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President Obama dropped a Saturday night bomb on Republicans by announcing a new tax plan that would provide tax breaks for the middle class while forcing the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share.

The White House laid out the president’s plan via a fact sheet:

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Closing One of the Biggest Tax Loopholes – the Trust Fund Loophole: The President will propose to close the single largest capital gains loophole, which lets hundreds of billions of dollars escape taxation each year, to ensure the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share on inherited assets.

Raising the Total Top Capital Gains and Dividends Rate Back to the Level Under President Reagan: The President will propose to raise the top capital gains rate to 28 percent – the rate under President Reagan.

Making the Biggest Financial Firms Pay Their Fair Share: The President will continue to reform the way the largest financial firms do business by proposing a fee on the biggest financial firms, making it more costly for them to borrow heavily.

The President proposes to use the savings produced by these measures to reinvest in the middle class, helping millions of families each year and strengthening their standing in the 21st century economy:

Helping Working Families: The President will lay out a new $500 second earner credit to help cover the additional costs faced by families where both spouses work – benefiting 24 million couples.

Tripling the Child Care Tax Credit: The President’s proposal would streamline and dramatically expand child care tax benefits, providing up to $3,000 per child under 5, and helping 5.1 million families cover child care costs for 6.7 million children.

Making College Accessible and Affordable: The President’s plan reforms the education tax system by consolidating six overlapping education provisions into just two and providing students up to $2,500 a year toward completing a college degree. His plan cuts taxes for 8.5 million families and students and simplifies taxes for the more than 25 million families and students that claim education tax benefits. The President has also proposed to make the first two years of community college free to any hardworking student.

Saving for Retirement: The President’s plan makes it easy and automatic for workers to save for retirement – giving 30 million more workers the opportunity to easily save for retirement through their employer.



President Obama’s plan directly targets the mechanisms that the wealthiest Americans use to avoid paying taxes. For example, this plan would cause an exponential increase in Mitt Romney’s federal tax bill.

The president has once again beaten the Republicans to the punch. While Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader McConnell were focused on corporate tax reform, President Obama has announced a plan that would be a step towards addressing the growing gap between the very rich and everyone else.

President Obama’s plan will cut taxes for 8.5 million families and students. Republicans will now have to decide if they are willing to argue against the very tax cuts that they claim to love.

Obama has dropped another bomb on the GOP, and Republicans have revealed themselves to be overmatched and inept against this powerful president.