Wealthy to call for an end to Bush tax cuts for the rich

Dozens of millionaires on Tuesday are expected to call for an end to their tax breaks enacted under President George W. Bush. 

The Responsible Wealth network, a subset of United for a Fair Economy, will lead a group of high net worth individuals in condemning the tax breaks they say have cost the country $2.5 trillion since their enactment in 2001. 

The group will call to restore the top two marginal tax rates to pre-2001 levels (from 33 percent to 36 percent, and from 35 percent to 39.6 percent); return tax rates for long-term capital gains and dividend income to pre-Bush levels; and create a 45 percent tax on estates worth more than $2 million (a 55 percent tax on larger estates). 

"As our nation struggles amidst the Great Recession, we can no longer afford tax cuts built on the failed trickle-down philosophies of the past, but there are those who are fighting to make the full tax cuts permanent nonetheless," the group stated in a release. "We cannot allow them to succeed."

During the 2001 tax debate, Republicans (and some Democrats) theorized that wealthier taxpayers would invest their larger tax refunds in businesses that generate jobs for lower-income individuals, which would grow the economy. It's been roughly ten years since the tax cuts were enacted, and with the jobless rate hovering around a record-high 10 percent, that theory is being questioned.   

House Ways and Means Chairman Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) is expected to begin the process of extending the middle-class tax cuts enacted under Bush when Congress returns from Easter break. 

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D. Ma.) said Congress would likely extend Bush's middle-class tax cuts before the November election. The Congressman runs the House Democrats' campaign arm and also serves as an assistant to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)

However, Democrats in vulnerable districts might have trouble supporting the expiration of tax breaks for the wealthy in the run-up to the election.