The Democrat who’s running in Iowa’s fifth congressional district says the Bush-era personal income tax cuts should be extended for all taxpayers, not just lower and middle-class Americans. 

Most Democrats have been pushing to extend the tax breaks for households with an annual income of $250,000 or less, but Matt Campbell of Manning, the Democratic candidate in the congressional district that covers western Iowa, disagrees with his fellow Democrats, including President Obama.

“I don’t want to raise taxes on wage income levels at any level and I differ with the administration is that they would restore the past income tax rates at the highest income levels,” Campbell says.  “…For folks that are at the highest income tax bracket, if you add on state taxation on top of that, that top dollar would be taxed at 50 percent.  I think that’s too high and that’s why I oppose raising taxes at any level.”

Campbell left his job as a tax attorney to run against Republican Congressman Steve King this fall.  He does favor allowing some of the other Bush-era tax cuts to expire for corporations and Campbell would not extend the break on estate taxes. 

President Obama argues allowing the tax rates for about two percent of America’s top income earners to return to Clinton-era levels will help reduce the deficit. Campbell says there is a need to reduce the deficit, but raising income taxes isn’t the way to do it.

“I would be supportive of the ‘Let Wall Street Pay for the Restoration of Main Street Tax Act’ which is co-sponsored by Senator Tom Harkin. This would apply a very small transaction tax on some of these multi-million-dollar transactions on Wall Street,” Campbell says. “You know, a very miniscule percentage, but the dollar amounts are so huge and they happen with such a degree of frequency that that, in my mind, would be a much better way of raising taxes to pay down the federal deficit.”

Campbell made his comments this morning (Friday) during taping of Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press” program.  Congressman King declined an invitation to appear on the program.