GOP Rep. Hultgren Draws Laughs At Town Hall With Plan To Beg, Not Require, Rich To Pay More Taxes

Earlier this week, Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-IL) held a town hall in Sandwich, Illinois, where constituents angrily denounced his right-wing policies. During one particularly amusing moment, Hultgren tried to defend his stand against raising taxes on the wealthy, drawing a round of laughs from the audience.

“I’m not out there trying to coddle anybody,” he defensively claimed. He then went on to explain that, instead of raising taxes on the wealthy, Congress could adopt a bill that would allow the rich to make voluntary donations to the Treasury and have them count as charitable contributions:

HULTGREN: I’m not out there trying to coddle anybody. In fact, I support a bill that allows the super rich if they want to give more money to the federal government it could be a charitable contribution.

(audience laughs)

HULTGREN: I think that makes sense! Use it as a charitable contribution.

Watch it:

Following an op-ed by billionaire Warren Buffet calling on Congress to raise taxes on the wealthy and accusing it of “coddling” the rich, many conservatives have reacted by lashing out at Buffet, demanding that he simply voluntarily pay more. Hultgren appears to be taking on this cry.

It’s unclear what bill exactly the congressman says he supports. ThinkProgress has contacted his office and is awaiting a reply. (HT: jessicaswenson1981 YouTube account)

UPDATE

Interestingly enough, gratuitous contributions to the government are already tax deductible as contributions per IRS section 170(c)(1). [HT: CAP's Seth Hanlon]