Paying taxes is painful… but reading about them shouldn’t be.
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The debate between Giuliani and Romney about taxes has garnered a lot of press. And now, it’s all the rage to talk tax as a candidate. Here’s Romney’s appearance on the Today Show:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbhfgiVUli4&rel=1]
For the record, here are the sound bytes from the candidates on tax back in May.
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In case you missed the bickering, here’s a clip:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97cizjnLycE&rel=1]
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No, I’m not talking about the Chicago Bears (”13 men on the field”) during their impressive comeback at Green Bay on Sunday night. I’m talking about the GOP presidential primary – nine candidates participated in the most recent debate.
Nothing confuses potential voters more than hearing candidates argue about prospective tax plans and disjointed and irrelevant references to past tax and spending history (we all know that the presidency is worlds apart from state and local politics). Nonetheless, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani were happy to exchange barbs while their colleagues looked on.
Giuliani claimed, “I cut taxes 23 times. I believe in tax cuts.”
Romney countered by claiming that he exercised the line item veto 844 times while Governor of Massachusetts.
The sparring continued with Romney pointing fingers at Giuliani’s support of the New York commuter tax. Giuliani, in turn, pointed at New York City’s healthy economy and said, “The point is that you’ve got to control taxes. I did it, he didn’t. … I led, he lagged.” Romney’s response? “I did not increase taxes in Massachusetts. I lowered taxes.”
And so it went, largely, with confusing statistics and rhetoric. All candidates seemed to agree on only one thing: that spending in Washington has become unmanageable.
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Oh, don’t even get me started.
But there are a number of folks who are actually making a run at it this year, some expected and some, well, not.
I have contacted each of the candidates several times to ask their positions on various tax issues. And a number of them responded promptly and their replies were posted earlier this month on taxgirl.com. To recap, you can check out the posts from these presidential candidates, in order of posting:
- Tommy Thompson
- Sam Brownback
- Joe Biden
- Ron Paul
- Mike Huckabee
I’ve been in contact by phone and email with John Edwards’ campaign and Mike Gravel’s campaign, each of whom have assured me that their answers are forthcoming, so look for those in the next few days.
Rudy Giuliani’s campaign is difficult to contact; they don’t respond to email and I was unable to get a fax number. I sent a letter to them via USPS, so I’m not sure what the outcome of that will be.
Senator Obama’s office sent me an email that someone would get back to me, so hopefully I’ll have something to post from his campaign shortly. He’s recently unveiled a tax strategy to pay for health care (which sounds similar to John Edwards’ plan) so I expect his answers to address that issue.
Senator Clinton’s office has been strangely silent – no emails, no faxes, no calls – odd since she’s been taking a beating in the press on her stance on corporate tax.
I am similarly surprised to not hear from Senator McCain’s office. He’s been making the rounds in the press, and seemed to pose the most well thought out plans during the debate, so you’d think he’d take advantage of the momentum.
That’s where we stand for now. Keep checking in to see what your favorite candidates have to say about taxes. And of course, if they won’t tell you, you know that I will!
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