TAXES
Barack Obama has said:
“I will cut taxes…for 95 percent of all working Americans.
I will reward work through a ‘Making Work Pay’ tax credit of $500 for American workers and $1,000 for working families.
[I will] rewrite the tax code to work for the middle class—not Washington lobbyists.
I will ease the burden on struggling homeowners through a universal homeowner’s tax credit. This will add up to a 10 percent break off the mortgage interest rate for 10 million households. That’s another $500 each year for most middle-class families.
I will eliminate income taxes for seniors making less than $50,000. This will end income taxes for 7 million Americans, at a savings of roughly $1,400 each year.
I will make college affordable for every single American who has the talent and drive to go with an annual $4,000 tax credit for anyone who commits to 100 hours of public service.
I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and start-ups that will create the high-tech, high-wage jobs of tomorrow, and help them afford health insurance for their employees.
Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 will see their taxes increase—not your income taxes, not your payroll taxes, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.”
—September 12, 2008 Speech, Dover, NH
The Obama website (http://www.barackobama.com) states:
Obama will:
--Provide a Tax Cut for Working Families by:
--creating a new “Making Work Pay” tax credit of up to $500 per person, or $1,000 per working family. The “Making Work Pay” tax credit will completely eliminate income taxes for 10 million Americans.
--Eliminate Income Taxes for Seniors Making Less than $50,000
--Simplify Tax Filings for Middle-Class Americans by:
--ensuring that the IRS uses the information it already gets from banks and employers to give taxpayers the option of pre-filled tax forms to verify, sign and return.
--Enact a Windfall Profits Tax to Provide a $1,000 Emergency Energy Rebate to American Families
--Provide $50 billion to Jumpstart the Economy and Prevent 1 Million Americans from Losing Their Jobs through:
--a $25 billion State Growth Fund to prevent state and local cuts in health, education, housing, and heating assistance or counterproductive increases in property taxes, tolls or fees [and]
--a relief plan [that] will include a $25 billion Jobs and Growth Fund to prevent cutbacks in road and bridge maintenance and fund school repair—[and] save more than 1 million jobs.
—Issues: Economy/Taxes: Provide Middle-Class Americans Tax Relief
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) Platform (http://www.democrats.org/a/party/platform.html) states:
The DNC will:
--restore fairness and responsibility to our tax code.
--shut down the corporate loopholes and tax havens and use the money [to] provide an immediate middle-class tax cut.
--eliminate federal income taxes for millions of retirees
--not increase taxes on any family earning less than $250,000
--offer additional tax cuts for middle-class families
--ask families making more than $250,000 to give back a portion of the Bush tax cuts to invest in health care and other key priorities.
--end the penalty within the current Social Security Credit
--dramatically simplify tax filings so millions of Americans can do their taxes in less than five minutes.
—Page 24
John McCain has said:
“I have proposed, and will sign into law, an economic recovery plan for working Americans that is directed to the middle class.
I will not raise your taxes on income or investments.
[I] will simplify the tax code so people can understand it and do their tax returns themselves.
I will give every family a $5,000 credit to buy their own health insurance policy and let them chose their own doctor. This will make insurance affordable to every American.
I will double the child exemption from $3,500 to $7,000 to help families pay for the rising cost of living.
Under my plan, a married couple with two children making $35,000 will get $5,000 to pay for health insurance and additional medical expenses. This family would get another $1,050 from my child exemption. That adds up to over $6,000.
Business taxes will be cut from the second highest in the world at 35 percent to 25 percent.
Tax incentives will spur investment in new plants and equipment.
Research and development incentives will keep companies on the cutting edge of their industries.
Healthcare costs will diminish.
Companies will stop sending jobs overseas to low-cost, low-tax countries and start creating jobs here in America.”
—September 19, 2008 Speech, Green Bay, WI
“I will send to Congress a proposal to cut the taxes [many] employers pay, from a rate of 35 to 25 percent.
I will also send to the Congress a middle-class tax cut—a complete phase-out of the Alternative Minimum Tax to save more than 25 million middle-class families more than 2,000 dollars every year.
I will send to Congress a reform…with the goal of doubling [the tax exemption] from 3,500 dollars to 7,000 dollars for every dependent, in every family in America.
I will propose and sign into law a reform agenda to:
--permit the first-year expensing of new equipment and technology
--ban Internet taxes, permanently
--ban new cell phone taxes and
--make the tax credit for R&D permanent.
I will propose an alternative tax system with two tax rates and a generous standard deduction.”
—April 15, 2008 Speech, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh
The McCain website (http://www.johnmccain.com/) states:
John McCain will:
--Keep Tax Rates Low by:
--keeping the top tax rate at 35 percent,
--maintaining the 15 percent rates on dividends and capital gains, and
--phasing out the Alternative Minimum Tax.
--Cut The Corporate Tax Rate from 35 to 25 Percent
--Allow First-Year Deduction, Or “Expensing,” Of Equipment And Technology Investments
--Establish a Permanent Tax Credit Equal To 10 Percent Of Wages Spent On R&D
--Ban Internet Taxes
--Ban New Cell Phone Taxes
—Issues: Economic Plan: Simpler and Fairer Taxes
The Republican National Committee (RNC) Platform (http://www.gop.com/2008Platform/) states:
The RNC believes government should tax only to raise money for its essential functions.
The RNC will:
--make the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts permanent so American families will not face a large tax hike
--advance tax policies to support American families, promote savings and innovation, and put [the U.S.] on a path to fundamental tax reform.
--lower the tax burden of American families with children by doubling the exemption for dependents.
--permanently ban internet access taxes and stop all new cell phone taxes.
--continue [its] fight against the federal death tax.
--repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax, a stealth levy on the middle-class that unduly targets large families.
--support tax credits for health care and medical expenses.
--support a major reduction in the corporate tax rate so American companies stay competitive with their foreign counterparts and American jobs can remain in this country.
--support a tax code that encourages personal savings and encourages employers to offer automatic enrollment in tax-deferred savings programs.
--remove current limits on tax-free savings accounts.
--replace the IRS tax code with a system that is simple, transparent, and fair while maximizing economic growth and job creation.
--give all taxpayers the option of filing under current rules or under a two-rate flat tax with generous deductions for families.
--oppose retroactive taxation.
--not tax religious organizations, charities and fraternal benevolent societies.
--tie any value added tax or national sales tax to simultaneous repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment, which established the federal income tax.
—Section on Economy (http://www.gop.com/2008Platform/Economy.htm#6)