The Truth About The Candidates' Tax Proposals

From Daily Kos:

Business Week, not exactly a left-leaning publication, reports on a rundown of the actual tax plans put forward by the candidates. And while John McCain may say his plan isn't for the rich, here's what the analysts have found.

So where does the reality lie? According to a new analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, a joint venture between the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, two Washington think tanks, this round goes to Obama. The TPC took a look at the various tax proposals put forth by the two candidates and estimated that Obama's plan would lead to a boost in aftertax income for all but the highest earners, while taking a smaller bite out of government tax revenues than would McCain's plans.

Obama's plan gives more breaks to more people without destroying the already straining budget. McCain's plan?

Under McCain's proposals, by contrast—including an extension of the Bush tax cuts for all taxpayers, a corporate tax cut, and a larger reduction in estate taxes than Obama would support—far more of the benefits would go to the top.

McCain's tax proposal is the same trickle-on idiocy that the Republicans have been pushing since Reagan, the same policy that's nearly destroyed the middle class while concentrating wealth in the top fraction of the top one percent. End result?

"It's just flat wrong" to say people would do worse under Obama, says Burman. "Most lower- and middle-class people would pay less taxes under Obama than they would under the proposals being put forth by McCain."

Nearly a quarter of all McCain's cuts would go to households making over $2.8 million, not exactly those hurting the worst in a tough economy. Not only does McCain's plan short the American people, it also shorts the government.

By contrast, even using the more favorable comparison, McCain's proposed tax changes would still leave the Treasury coming up short. According to the study, McCain's combined proposals would slash tax revenues by an estimated $253 billion over the 10-year period compared with what would come in under current tax policy.

Obama's plan benefits the poor and middle class and is fiscally responsible. McCain's plan benefits the super-rich and recklessly guts the treasury. Now the real question: when McCain appears on the campaign trail this week, will the media have the courage to call him on these lies?