President Obama's Budget Proposal for Fiscal Year 2011 is now available online1 via the Government Printing Office (GPO). Printed copies and a version on CD ROM can also be ordered from the GPO Bookstore2.
Obama's 2011 Budget Proposal3 - which calls for $3.8 trillion in government spending, to be financed by only $2.5 trillion in revenues thus creating a $1.3 trillion deficit4 - represents the first step in the annual federal budget process5. All spending and revenue proposals in the President's Budget Proposal6 are subject to the approval of Congress.
Paying for All This: In the "2011 Green Book7," Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner8 outlines how the Obama administration proposes to raise that $2.5 trillion in revenue, including reducing the "tax gap9" and phasing out the tax cuts for upper-income earners established by President George W. Bush.< .p>
"Increasing the income tax liability of higher-income taxpayers would reduce the deficit, make the income tax system more progressive and distribute the cost of government more fairly among taxpayers of various income levels," states the Treasury Department.
According to the Treasury Department, the tax-related proposals in the Obama budget would increase taxes on the wealthy by about $1.4 trillion by 2021, while lowering taxes on middle-class workers and small business by about $330 billion, thus resulting in a net increase in tax revenue of about $1.1 trillion over the next ten years.
