THE FACTS: BARACK OBAMA IS ACTUALLY PROPOSING A MIDDLE CLASS TAX CUT. JOHN MCCAIN WILL PROVIDE NEARLY $2 TRILLION IN CORPORATE TAX CUTS AND WILL MAKE PERMANENT THE BUSH TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY. ORDINARY AMERICANS WILL ONLY SEE A SMALL FRACTION OF THE TAX CUTS JOHN MCCAIN IN PROVIDING.
Obama Will Provide Real Middle Class Tax Relief. Barack Obama is the only candidate who has a real middle class relief plan – he will provide $1,000 in a refundable tax credit to working families, create a universal mortgage interest credit for homeowners who cant benefit from a mortgage tax incentive available to wealthier Americans, and create a $4,000 college tax credit for middle class families. [
Barack Obama, 11/07/07]
McCain’s Tax Plan Will Double the Size of Bush’s Tax Cuts. According to recent study from the Center for American Progress Action Fund, “McCain’s three major new tax cuts – cutting corporate tax rates, expensing for corporate investment, and repealing the AMT – would cost the federal government more than $2 trillion in tax revenue over 10 years... They will approximately double the cost of Bush tax cuts.” [Robert Gordon and James Kvaal, “Five Easy Pieces and Two Trillion Dollars,” Center for American Progress Action Fund, 3/08]
McCain’s Tax Plan is More Regressive than the Bush Tax Cuts; Nearly 60 Percent of the Benefits Go to the Top One Percent. As a study from the Center for American Progress Action Fund recently noted, “The McCain plan to cut corporate taxes and eliminate the AMT is very regressive as well as very expensive. The plan delivers the vast majority of its benefits to high-income taxpayers and very little to tens of millions of middle-class families. … The McCain tax cuts together are even more regressive than the Bush tax cuts. … The bottom 60 percent of tax payers get only 4 percent of the benefit, while the bottom 80 percent get only 9 percent.” The study also noted that the top 1 percent of income earners will receive 58 percent of the benefits of the McCain tax plan. By contrast, 31 percent of the Bush tax cuts went to top 1 percent of income earners. [Robert Gordon and James Kvaal, “Five Easy Pieces and Two Trillion Dollars,” Center for American Progress Action Fund, 3/08]
McCain Supports the Bush Tax Cuts that He Once Said were “Too Tilted to the Wealthy,” and “Go to the Most Fortunate Among Us, At The Expense of Middle-Class.” In late 2007, McCain promised, “I will not let the Democrats roll back the Bush tax cuts.” During a January 2008 GOP debate, McCain said: “I think it’s very important that we make the Bush tax cuts permanent.” And on an episode of Fox News Sunday, McCain said, “We need to make Bush tax cuts permanent.” [Associated Press, 10/10/2007; McCain Press Release, 12/18/2007; MSNBC/FAU GOP Debate, 1/24/2008; Fox News Sunday transcript, 2/3/2008]
McCain Said The Bush Tax Cuts Were “Too Tilted To The Wealthy, And I Still Do.” “In May 2001, Mr. McCain was one of only two Republicans -- the other was Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island -- to vote against President Bush's $1.35 trillion 10-year tax cut. … Later, he said he also opposed the 2003 tax cut because it, too, disproportionately benefited the rich. ‘I just thought it was too tilted to the wealthy, and I still do,’ Mr. McCain told Stephen Moore, a member of The Wall Street Journal editorial board, in an interview published on Nov. 26, 2005. These days, Mr. McCain says at almost every campaign stop that he wants to make those tax cuts permanent rather than have them expire, as the law stipulates, because getting rid of them would have the effect of a tax hike.” [The New York Times, 3/3/08]
McCain Said He Could Not “In Good Conscience” Support the Bush Tax Cuts That “Go to the Most Fortunate Among Us, At The Expense of Middle-Class Americans Who Most Need Tax Relief.” “I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us, at the expense of middle class Americans who most need tax relief.” [Congressional Record, 5/26/01]
MCCAIN RHETORIC: “Senator Obama’s plans would add to the difficulties of small business in other ways, too. Currently, there are the 21.6 million sole proprietorships filing under the individual income tax. When Senator Obama talks about raising income tax rates on those making over 250,000 dollars — that includes these businesses as well. He also proposes increases in dividend and capital gains taxes. Under Senator Obama’s tax plan, Americans of every background would see their taxes rise – seniors, parents, small business owners, and just about everyone who has even a modest investment in the market. He proposes to eliminate the Social Security earnings cap, and thereby to increase the tax on employers. He proposes to eliminate the secret ballot for union votes, and to raise the minimum wage and then index it, which is a sure way to add to your costs and to slow the creation of new jobs. You work hard in small businesses to grow and to create new jobs and opportunities for others — and the federal government shouldn’t make your work any harder.” [McCain speech to the NFIB, 6/10/08]
THE FACTS: OBAMA’S TAX PLAN IS FOCUSED ON RELIEF FOR WORKING AMERICANS, SENIORS AND SUPPORTING INNOVATION
Barack Obama Will Only Raise Taxes for Those Earning Over $250,000 Per Year: In an interview with CNBC, Barack Obama stated, “And I think that we have an economy that's been out of balance for too long, so the general principle of raising taxes on higher income Americans like myself, and providing relief to those who haven't benefited as much from this new global economy, I think is a sound one. And keep in mind on all of these proposals, what I've said is, let's make sure that we define the well-off so that we're not hitting the middle class, you know. I generally define well-off as people who are making 250,000 dollars a year or more. And that means, for example, if we raise the capital gains tax, I will exempt people who are essentially small investors, and really capture those who have done very, very well over the last two decades.” [CNBC, 06/09/08]
Less than 2 Percent of Small Businesses Would be Affected by Rolling Back the Bush Tax Cuts on the Wealthy: According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, less than 2 percent of individual tax filers who report small business income fall into the top two marginal tax rates. [
Tax Policy Center, 4/27/07]
Barack Obama is the Only Candidate to Propose Cutting the Capital Gains Tax Rate to Zero for Start Ups and Small Businesses: Barack Obama has stated, “As we make these changes, we'll be sure to encourage growth and innovation. So we'll exempt start-up companies and small businesses from capital gains to give them an added boost. Because when more Americans tap that well of opportunity, all of us are better off.” [
Barack Obama, 9/17/07] John McCain’s economic proposal lacks such a provision. [
JohnMcCain.com]
Barack Obama is the Only Candidate to Propose Tax Relief for Low and Middle Income Seniors: Obama will eliminate all income taxation of seniors making less than $50,000 per year. This will provide an immediate tax cut averaging $1,400 to 7 million seniors and relieve millions from the burden of filing tax returns. John McCain’s tax proposal lacks such a provision. [
Barackobama.com;
JohnMcCain.com]
Obama Will Provide Real Middle Class Tax Relief. Barack Obama is the only candidate who has a real middle class relief plan – he will provide $1,000 in a refundable tax credit to working families, create a universal mortgage interest credit for homeowners who cant benefit from a mortgage tax incentive available to wealthier Americans, and create a $4,000 college tax credit for middle class families. [
Barack Obama, 11/07/07]