December, 08 2010, 11:51am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Trevor Fitzgibbon, Fitzgibbon
Media: Office-202-506-7162,
Bob Keener: 617-610-6766 or bob@wealthforcommongood.org
Millionaires Urge Congress to Reject Compromise On Bush Tax Cuts for Rich
WASHINGTON
While Congress debates how to address the
expiring Bush-era tax cuts, Wealth for the Common Good today joins with
Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength, a campaign of the Agenda Project,
and a wide coalition of grassroots organizations to deliver 50,000 petition signatures calling on Congress to
stand up for working families and allow high-income tax cuts to expire.
Wealth for the Common Good and the Patriotic Millionaires
for Fiscal Strength have over 100 public signers with annual incomes of over $1
million and 500+ public signers with household incomes over $250,000 who want
to see tax cuts for the wealthy expire as scheduled on December 31, 2010.They include a dozen Google execs, a
Blackrock MD, Chairman Emeritus of the NY Mercantile Exchange, multiple Silicon
Valley entrepreneurs, the co-founder of Ben & Jerry's, the founder of
Ask.com, the CEO of Men's Warehouse, the founder of the Princeton Review, and
many others.
"There are only 375,000 people in the entire country who
make more than $1 million a year," said Agenda Project founder Erica Payne.
"They pay lower taxes now than they have for most of the last 80 years.Given the financial situation our country
faces, it is grossly irresponsible to let these millionaires pay less than their
fair share."
"We're alarmed that President Obama is compromising on high
income tax cuts," said Alison Goldberg, spokesperson for Wealth for the Common
Good."Hundreds of the people who would
benefit from high-income tax cuts are speaking out that they don't think their tax cuts should be extended."
"I don't like paying taxes, but they are necessary for
our country to operate.Extending tax
cuts for the wealthy would be a worse mistake than creating them in the first
place," said Bill Gawthrop, Former Founder, President, Chairman of the Board of
Green Mountain Geophysics.
"When main street
consumers are doing better, we all will do better," said Mitchell Gold, CEO of
Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Company, a home furnishings business. "As a
business owner who has created hundreds of jobs over the past two decades, I
know we need tax and economic policies that build strong and sustainable
economic growth.And while my tax rate
was higher ten years ago, I was making more money and my business was doing far
better. Tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent will not help Main Street, it
will only further mortgage our future."
These organizations are joining the Other 98 percent, True
Majority, and others to combine their signatures for delivery to Congressional
offices on Wednesday.
###
Wealth for the Common Good is a network of business and
civic leaders, wealthy individuals and partners, promoting fair and adequate
taxation to support public investment in a healthy economy.
Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength is a campaign of
The Agenda Project, a New York based public policy institute.
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