GOP pounces on Obama’s tax plan

Republicans pounced on President Obama’s tax plan that he will unveil during Tuesday’s State of the Union Address as little more than a partisan stunt with virtually no chance of passing in the GOP-controlled Congress.

A senior White House officials said Saturday that Obama will unveil a tax plan that taxes the wealthy while providing tax credits for middle-income Americans. 

But the $235 billion in revenue that Obama wants to collect through the tax plan would be used to pay for new government programs — expanding the government at a time with the GOP-controlled Congress.

Staffers for senior Republican members pounced on the plan as little more than a partisan stunt.

“It’s not surprising to see the president call for tax hikes, but now he’s asking Congress to reverse bipartisan tax relief that he signed into law,” said Don Stewart, deputy chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). 

Stewart said that “Republicans believe we should simplify America’s outdated tax code; that tax filing should be easier for you, not just those with fancy accountants; and that tax reform should create jobs for families, not the [Internal Revenue Service].”

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, also criticized the proposal.

“This is not a serious proposal,” said Ryan spokesman Brendan Buck in a public statement. “We lift families up and grow the economy with a simpler, flatter tax code, not big tax increases to pay for more Washington spending.”