Bunning's plan would allow individuals greater ability to deduct investment losses.
Bunning said:
"Since the peak of the market in the fall of 2007, investors have lost $7.5 trillion in wealth. More than half of this amount is held in taxable accounts."
"If we do not adjust the limit, taxpayers will be unable to deduct real economic losses from their income tax, and this will result in higher effective tax rates."
"Two respected economists have recommended my amendment as a way to stimulate the economy. In an article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Let’s Stimulate Private Risk Taking,” economists from Harvard University and the University of Chicago wrote that my amendment would stimulate risk taking by reducing the downside of new investments and increasing the upside."
Further, Sen. Bunning advised removing significant corporate welfare provisions from the bill:
"My amendment also reduces the cost of this bill by about $2 billion, because I am also striking a remarkable provision that for the first time would allow corporations to use tax credits, even if they have no income. This is nothing more than corporate welfare and Soviet-style industrial policy."
"Never before has this body endorsed a refundable tax credit for corporations. This one costs a staggering $10.9 billion. It’s bad policy, and the money should be spent on broad-based tax individual tax relief that will stimulate our economy."
