Democrats to pitch aggressive middle-class tax breaks

On Monday, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) will present an ambitious "action plan" put together by senior Democrats that would give tax breaks to the middle class while adding fees to financial transactions on Wall Street.

As The Washington Post reports, the plan proposes to give a "paycheck bonus" worth $1,000 to individuals and $2,000 to couples; increase the tax credit for child care from $3,000 per person to $8,000 per person; create a bonus of $250 for workers who put away $500 a year in retirement funds or other savings accounts; and reduce marriage penalties for dual-income couples.

Van Hollen also proposes limiting tax breaks for the top 1 percent of earners, and to impose a 0.1 percent fee on stock trades. Van Hollen says that the fee could bring in as much as $800 billion over the next 10 years, with most coming from high-volume traders.

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