Thursday, March 19, 2009

Follies of the AIG Tax

H.R. 1598: The AIG Key Executives Bonus Accountability and Capture (TAKE BACK) Act

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose a higher rate of tax on bonuses paid by businesses receiving TARP funds.

Today, the House passed the bill enacting a 90% tax on all income from bonuses greater than $250,000 from a company that received greater than $5 billion in TARP funds. Such action assumes every person who received a bonus at AIG did not deserve the compensation.

A government should never have the ability to decide an individual is “unacceptable” for high compensation. If passed by the senate, I believe this tax will be tested in the court system and overruled. It’s a tax with punitive and vindictive motives, and targets a specified group of individuals. I consider a person’s right to earn a market wage is as strong as his right to speech.

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