McCain v Obama on Tax: Is It Really Just the Lesser of Two Evils?
Obama and McCain continue to battle it out about the issue that most Americans seems to care about right now: the economy.
To hear each talk, it just can’t get much worse (can it?). McCain spins Obama’s tax proposal as “the biggest tax increase since World War II.” Obama compares McCain’s plan to that of the Bush administration, which he labels “the most fiscally irresponsible in our history” and claims that McCain will make it worse.
With all of the rhetoric and hyperbole, it’s hard to know who has the best plan for most taxpayers. So,let’s ask the experts!
According to a new analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, a joint venture between the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, Obama’s plan makes the most sense for Americans.
The TPC has estimated that Obama’s plan would lead to a boost in aftertax income for all but the highest earners. The TPC reports that Senator McCain’s tax cuts “would primarily benefit those with very high incomes, almost all of whom would receive large tax cuts that would, on average, raise their after-tax incomes by more than twice the average for all households.” In what the TPC describes as “marked contrast,” Senator Obama offers much larger tax breaks to low- and middle-income taxpayers and would increase taxes on high-income taxpayers. What would be the outcome? In particular, the TPC notes that “McCain’s reduced individual and corporate rates would improve economic efficiency and increase domestic investment, but the larger deficits he would incur to do so would reduce and could completely offset any positive effect.”
You can read an excerpt here and the full report here as a pdf.
What do you think? Does this change your mind at all?
