Politics

Rep. Pascrell Says Ocasio Cortez’s 70-Percent Tax Rate Idea Is ‘Comical’

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Kerry Picket Political Reporter
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WASHINGTON, D.C .— New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez knows Republicans take issue with her 70-percent marginal tax rate proposal on the wealthiest Americans, but New Jersey Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell called her plan “comical” on Thursday.

“I thought it was comical. We can have reasonable taxation. And then you can send signals that we’re just going to go after people who have a few dollars. We don’t want to stop people from making money. What we want to do is make sure everybody’s paying their fair share. And I’m not speaking for (Ocasio-Cortez),” Pascrell told reporters when asked about the New York Democrat’s tax plan.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) waits for a ceremonial swearing-in picture on Capitol Hill in Washington

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) waits for a ceremonial swearing-in picture on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 3, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts.

He went on to explain:

Apparently, she feels that those folks would be paying their fair share if they paid 70 percent. Now, we did have a tax rate if you go back when JFK — before JFK was the president of the United States. We had a tax rate up here for those people that she’s talking about. Those economic situations are different than today’s economic situation. It might have been more apropos of them than it is now. I don’t accept that.

Pascrell explained he wants to put a fair tax reform in place and said he opposed the Republican-passed tax reform bill passed one year ago in December. (Related: Ocasio-Cortez Says Better To Be ‘Morally Right’ Than ‘Factually’ Correct)

“I think should be helping those people who need it most and not who need it less. We know where most the tax cuts went. We know where they were spent, and I can understand someone just coming into the Congress wanting to even the score. We can’t even the score that way. We need to do entire tax reform and not just those that have a few dollars,” he said.

Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ)(R), speaks about high ticket prices while flanked by Rep. Michael E. Capuano (D-MA)(L), Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT)(2nd-L) and Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT)(2nd-R) during a news conference on Capitol Hill, December 16, 2009 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ)(R), speaks about high ticket prices while flanked by Rep. Michael E. Capuano (D-MA)(L), Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT)(2nd-L) and Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT)(2nd-R) during a news conference on Capitol Hill, December 16, 2009 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Ocasio-Cortez first put forth her tax-rate proposal as a way to fund her “Green New Deal” plan when she appeared on CBS’s “60 Minutes” last Sunday. (RELATED: Taxing The Rich Probably Isn’t Enough To Fund Ocasio-Cortez’s ‘Green New Deal.’ Who Else Would See Higher Taxes?)

She said during the interview:

You look at our tax rates back in the 60s, and when you have a progressive tax rate system, your tax rate — you know, let’s say, from zero to $75,000 — may be 10 percent or 15 percent, et cetera. But once you get to, like, the tippy tops, on your 10-millionth dollar, sometimes you see tax rates as high as 60 or 70 percent. That doesn’t mean all $10 million are taxed at an extremely high rate, but it means that as you climb up this ladder you should be contributing more.

House Republican Minority Whip Steve Scalise went after Ocasio-Cortez’s plan saying on Twitter, “Republicans: Let Americans keep more of their own hard-earned money. Democrats: Take away 70 percent of your income and give it to leftist fantasy programs.”

Ocasio-Cortez tweeted back, “You’re the GOP Minority Whip. How do you not know how marginal tax rates work?”

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Kerry Picket is a host on SiriusXM Patriot 125