since taking office in 2009, president barack obama has formally proposed a total of 442 tax increases, according to an americans for tax reform analysis of obama administration budgets for fiscal years 2010 through 2015. the 442 total proposed tax increases does not include the 20 tax increases obama signed into law as part of obamacare. “history tells us what obama was able to do. this list reminds us of what obama wanted to do,” said grover norquist, president of americans for tax reform. the number of proposed tax increases per year is as follows: -79 tax increases for fy 2010 -52 tax increases for fy 2011 -47 tax increases for fy 2012 -34 tax increases for fy 2013 -137 tax increases for fy 2014 -93 tax increases for fy 2015 perhaps not coincidentally, the obama budget with the lowest number of proposed tax increases was released during an election year: in february 2012, obama released his fy 2013 budget, with “only” 34 proposed tax increases. once safely re-elected, obama came back with a vengeance, proposing 137 tax increases, a personal record high for the 44th president. in addition to the 442 tax increases in his annual budget proposals, the 20 signed into law as part of obamacare, and the massive tobacco tax hike signed into law on the sixteenth day of his presidency, obama has made it clear he is open to other broad-based tax increases. during an interview with men’s health in 2009, when asked about the idea of national tax on soda and sugary drinks, the president said, "i actually think it's an idea that we should be exploring." during an interview with cnbc’s john harwood in 2010, obama said a european-style value-added-tax was “something that would be novel for the united states.” obama’s statement was consistent with a pattern of remarks made by obama white house officials refusing to rule out a vat. “presidents are judged by history based on what they did in power. but presidents can only enact laws when the congress agrees,” said norquist. "thus a record forged by such compromise tells you what a president -- limited by congress -- did rather than what he wanted to do.” the full list of proposed obama tax increases can be found here.
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