Tax the Rich, Then Tax them More

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- There may be reasons to tax the rich more, as a lot of people in Washington are talking about doing.

But to raise taxes on them, and only them, to pay for the country's most ambitious proposals like health care reform, is a problem, experts say.

If nothing else, it makes for some bad math.

"We don't have enough rich people. We could tax the wealthy to extraordinary levels. But we cannot afford everything we want," said Ken Kies, a former director of the Joint Committee on Taxation and currently a tax lobbyist for businesses including insurers.

Yet, rich households are the focus of several revenue generating proposals to help pay for health care reform and other endeavors.

Income surtax: Key committees in the House on Tuesday released a proposal that would impose an income surtax on high-income families -- an additional tax on income over a certain threshold.

The surtax applied in full would range from 1% to 2% for couples making between $350,000 and $500,000. It would range from 1.5% to 3% for couples making between $500,000 and $1 million. And it would be 5.4% for families making more than $1 million.

The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the provision could raise $544 billion over 10 years.

Millionaire's tax: The Senate is said to be considering a "millionaire's tax" of 5% levied on single filers making more than $500,000 and joint filers making more than $1 million. - CNN News Story