Taxes. Like them or not, they are going to haunt the presidential candidates in the upcoming election.
Earlier this week, I offered some perspective on the GOP candidates’ stance on tax issues as articulated by each of them during the most recent debate. Now, it’s the Dems’ turn.
The Democratic candidates for President fielded questions during the April 27 debate moderated by Brian Williams. This is where they stand on tax policy:
(insert crickets chirping here)
That’s right. With the exception of Senator John Edwards (NC), who mentioned repealing President Bush’s tax cuts for Americans making more than $200,000 in order to fund his health care plan, there was really no substantive discussion about tax issues in the April 27 debate. That’s pretty interesting considering the amount of time devoted to it during the GOP debates.
According to the New York Times, all of the Democratic candidates have signaled that they would support keeping in place the tax cuts for middle-class Americans, generally thought of as those with annual income less than $200,000. Similarly, the candidates seem to agree that they will not advocate for the repeal of the federal estate tax.
As to the specifics? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Democratic candidate Mike Gravel is on the record (though not at the debate) as supporting the FairTax plan (H.R. 25). This is a pretty unique stance, especially considering that the front runners are on the record as opposed.
Gravel was on CNBC the day after the debate and the first thing he discussed was enacting the FairTax. (Gravel on the FairTax: http://www.gravel2008.us/?q=fair_tax)
Interestingly, since most support for H.R. 25 comes from the GOP, I do not believe that any of the GOP candidates support it (at least openly).
http://butlerblog.com/2007/05/03/americans-for-fair-taxation-fairtaxorg/
(Nice site, BTW… I like your logo.)