Please Raise My Taxes Says This Millionaire
Raising taxes on the wealthy along with entitlement reform and spending cuts need to be part of any solution to the country's fiscal problems, Jeff Gural, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank Chairman, told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Monday.
"Wealthy Americans have done very well in the last dozen years with the tax policies of the Bush administration," the head of the commercial real estate firm said. "It's clear we have huge deficits. It's time for compromise and for us on the wealthy side to pay higher taxes in exchange for lower cuts in government spending."
Gural said that the biggest problem Washington has in getting to a deal on taxes is Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform. (Read More: House Republicans Have a Mandate on Taxes: Norquist.)
"Republicans seem dead set against raising taxes on wealthy people and that's just ridiculous," he said.
"All the Republicans have signed this pledge not to raise taxes and (Norquist's) made it clear that if they vote to raise taxes he's going to take action to defeat them in an election in two years," Gural said. "No one elected Grover Norquist."
While raising taxes on the wealthy should be part of any deal on the "fiscal cliff," when automatic spending cuts and tax increases kick in at the end of the year, Gural told CNBC Democrats also have to compromise on entitlements. (Read More: Tax the Rich to Fix 'Fiscal Cliff': Larry Summers.)
"If we have to pay higher taxes so be it, as long as it's tied into reforms on Medicare, Social Security and other cuts," he said. "It's time that Americans come together and we all sacrifice."
