New and not-so-new ideas:
Allow the Bush-era tax rate cuts for higher-income earners to expire, making the top individual income tax rate 36.9 percent.
Institute the “Buffett Rule” to add a new tax rate for households making more than $1 million a year. Buffett is a true American who says he and other rich people don’t pay enough taxes.
Reduce the value of itemized deductions to 28 percent for high-income taxpayers.
Expand the current 2 percentage point employee payroll tax cut to a 3.1 percent rate — half of the recent 6.2 percent rate.
Return the estate tax limits to 2009 tax year levels: a $3.5 million exclusion and a 45 percent rate on estates worth more than that. Currently, estate tax allows a little over $5 million of an estate’s value to be excluded from taxation. Assets exceeding that amount are taxed at a significant rate.