by Donna Jablonski, Apr 5, 2006

President Bush’s investment tax breaks for the rich are paying off big time for them that’s got. Taxpayers with incomes of more than $10 million got an average $500,000 investment tax break in 2003, The New York Times reveals today. Add their compensation tax breaks to the investment tax cut and their average tax savings climbs above $1 million.

The Times analyzed Internal Revenue Service data for 2003 (the latest figures available) as Congress considers making Bush’s tax cuts permanent. People with incomes topping $1 million a year—one-tenth of 1 percent of us—“reaped 43 percent of all the savings on investment taxes in 2003. The savings for these taxpayers averaged about $41,400 each,” according to the report. A separate analysis cited by the Times finds more than 70 percent of the tax savings on investment income went to the top 2 percent, about 2.6 million taxpayers.

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) told the Times Bush’s tax cuts are “beyond irresponsible” when “we’re in a war; we haven’t fixed Social Security or Medicare; we’ve got record deficits.”

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