Published for www.keithhennessey.com, February 22, 2012

va·por·ware (n): computer slang a product, especially software, that is promoted or marketed while it is still in development and that may never be produced

The President’s Buffett Rule is vaporware.

Here is the President speaking yesterday:

Congress needs to make the Buffett Rule a reality. This is common sense. (Applause.) If you make more than a million dollars a year — make more than a million dollars a year — you should pay a tax rate of at least 30 percent. (Applause.) And if you do that, that means that if you make less than $250,000 a year, like 98 percent of Americans do, you shouldn’t see your taxes go up. And we won’t be adding to the deficit.

These are things we can do today. It shouldn’t be that difficult. Now, whenever Congress refuses to act, Joe and I, we’re going to act. (Applause.)

The President has not actually proposed a tax policy that fits this principle. Neither his budget nor the tax proposals released by Treasury include any policy specifics to establish a new minimum 30% tax rate for those with income > $1M.

Treasury released 200 pages of proposed tax policy changes, including obscure things like repealing the preferential dividend rule for Real Estate Investment Trusts. They did not release specifics to accompany the one tax policy change the President talks about almost every day (and twice yesterday).

Full post here