Presidential Candidates Proposed Tax Plans
Differences between the tax plans:
* Obama- Seniors making less than $50k would not pay any taxes. (6)
* Obama- expanding the earned income tax credit (6)
* Obama- Those making less than $150,000 a $500 tax credit per person on the first $8,100 in income (6)
* Obama- Giving those making under $75,000 a 50% federal match on the first $1,000 of savings, and (6)
* Obama- Triple Earned income credit for minimum wage workers
* McCain- Plan would include health benefits provided by employer as taxable income which would be at least partially and potentially fully covered by a tax credit of $5k for families. Benefits could push people into higher tax brackets (2)
* McCain- Increase deductions for dependents
* Obama- Estate Tax at 45% for estates valued north of $7million. An increase on the current exception (2)
* McCain- Berkeley economist Brad Delong has estimated, the McCain plan, as compared to the Obama plan, would lower annual incomes by $300 billion or more in real terms by 2017, costing the typical worker $1,800 or more due to the effect of large deficits on national savings and thus capital formation(2)
* Obama- plan would not raise any taxes on couples making less than $250,000 a year, nor on any single person with income under $200,000 — not income taxes, capital gains taxes, dividend or payroll taxes.(2)
* Obama- Top two tax brackets would return their 1990's levels of 36% and 39.6% (2)
* Obama - Top capital-gains rate for families making more than $250,000 would return to 20% (the lowest rate that existed in the 1990s and the rate President Bush proposed in his 2001 tax cut. A 20% rate is almost a third lower than the rate President Reagan set in 1986).(2)
* Obama- Plan would reduce taxes for 81.3% of Americans (4)
* McCain- Plan doesn't provide a tax cut for 65.8 million (5)
* Obama- Net tax cut bringing revenues to less than 18.2% of GDP, the same level of taxes that prevailed under Regan (2)
Differences in business taxes:
* Obama- Payroll taxes for employees making over $250k would increase as employers would have to pay Social Security taxes (1)
* Obama- No tax increases for small businesses earning less than $250k (1)
* Obama- Tax credit for employers who provide health care(1)
* Obama- "The vast majority of small businesses would face lower taxes under the Obama plan than under the McCain plan." (2)
* McCain- Would lower corporate taxes to 25% from 35% (7)
Impact on the national debt:
* McCain's tax plan would lead to a $4.2 Trillion larger deficit over the next 10 years. (1)
* Obama's tax plan would lead to a $2.9 Trillion larger deficit over the next 10 years. (1)
Sources:
1. Tax Policy Center – Analysis of the two tax plans
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/url.cfm?ID=411749
Bi-Partisan nonprofit group formed by the Urban Institute and Brookings Institute
2. Wall Street Journal – The Obama Tax Plan
http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB121867201724238901.html
3. FactCheck.org – Fact Check Obama speech
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/factchecking_obama.html
4. Tax Policy Center – Chart of Barak's tax plan impacts
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/numbers/displayatab.cfm?Docid=1968&DocTypeID=2
5. Tax Policy Center – Chart of McCain's tax plan impacts
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/numbers/displayatab.cfm?Docid=1968&DocTypeID=2
6. CNN – What they'll do to your tax bill
http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/11/news/economy/candidates_taxproposals_tpc/
7. Business Week – McCain and Obama on Tax Reform
http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/jun2008/pi20080622_415010_page_2.htm
8. Washington Post- Obama vs. McCain Tax Proposal
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/06/09/ST2008060900950.html
PDF- Tax Policy Center Analysis of Obama and McCain Tax proposals
