A round-up of coverage and commentary on the Obama Administration’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2012…

Aric Newhouse, senior vice president, National Association of Manufacturers, NAM statement:

Unfortunately, President Obama’s budget plan … contains higher taxes for virtually all manufacturers – a direct threat to growth and manufacturing jobs. Increased income taxes on companies with worldwide operations, increased energy taxes and income taxes for small and medium-sized companies will make manufacturers less competitive.

Jack Gerard, president, American Petroleum Institute, “Administration tax hike will hurt jobs, cut government revenue“:

It’s no surprise the administration is proposing yet again to raise taxes on the U.S. oil and natural gas industry.  But it’s still a bad idea and comes at one of the worst times in our economic history.  The administration continues to ignore the fact this industry is among the nation’s largest job creators and delivers enormous revenues to government at all levels.  The industry pays income taxes, royalties and other fees totaling nearly $100 million every day and pays income tax at an effective rate far higher than most other industries.

 Besides eliminating thousands of new potential jobs, the increases, over the long term, would actually lower revenue to the government by many billions of dollars as a result of foregone revenues from projects the tax hikes would prevent going forward.

Dean Zerbe, Forbes, Capital Tax blog, “Obama’s Budget Proposal and Taxes: Lots of Regifting“:

The tax proposals in the administration’s FY 2012 budget released today is a combination of regifting (lots of old and cold proposals that didn’t go anywhere even when the Democrats ran the whole show) and some new proposals that will take a good deal of energy to get moving in this Congress. (continue reading…)

Americans for Tax Reform today marks the annual Cost of Government Day, when the average taxpayer has earned enough for the year to pay his government obligations and start working for himself.

Cost of Government Day falls four days later in 2008 than last year’s revised date of July 12.  In 2008, the average American will have to work an additional 17 days out of the year to pay off his or her cost of government compared to 2000, when the COGD was June 29. 

In fact, since 1977, COGD has fallen later than July 16 in only four of those 32 years – in 1982 and 1983, and in 1992 and 1993.  The driving factor for this development is the fact that all components of the cost of government – federal spending, state and local spending, and regulation – are now increasing faster than national income.

Index here.