White House Announcement on Tax Provisions of proposed "American Jobs Act of 2011" (Sept. 12, 2011)

(announcement details the tax increases contained in the "American Jobs Act of 2011" designed to pay for nearly $500 billion in additional spending; most provisions are simply re-proposals of tax increases that have been previously rejected by legislators in both parties and are likely "dead on arrival" in the Congress; taxation of partnership carried interests (i.e., earnings by hedge fund managers and various types of partnerships) as ordinary income (which has been previously rejected by Charles Schumer (D-NY); 28 percent limitation deduction phase-out (which accelerates other rate increases on taxpayers subjected to the phase-out) on itemized deductions for individuals with adjusted gross income exceeding $200,000 in a year ($250,000 for families) (similar provision rejected as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act when Democrats had control of both bodies in Congress and a super-majority in the Senate); elimination of bonus depreciation on private jets; tax increase on the U.S. oil and gas industry by eliminating the domestic production deduction (which is presently allowed to all taxpayers that manufacture, grow, produce or extract products in the United States (but is allowed at a lower rate to domestic producers of oil and gas); proposal also includes provision extending 100 percent bonus depreciation through 2012, and other temporary tax provisions including a "returning heroes" tax credit of up to $5,600, up to a $9,600 credit for business that hire an unemployed or injured veteran, and up to a $4,000 tax credit for hiring a worker unemployed longer than six months; proposal finances tax hikes by providing "stimulus" via temporary payroll tax cuts including cut in employee Social Security payroll tax from 6.2 percent to 3.1 percent, and temporary elimination of payroll taxes for companies that increase their payroll by up to $50 million).