Monday, October 13, 2008

Obama Says His Tax Plan Designed to Redistribute Wealth

Sen. Barack Obama better start choosing his words a little more carefully while he defends his big lead in the polls.

Talking to a plumber in Ohio yesterday, this is how he described his tax plan:

"It's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody that is behind you, that they have a chance for success, too." The plan, Obama tells the voter, is to "spread the wealth around."

Critics have long compared his proposal to socialism, describing his tax plan as a Robin Hood adventure. Framing his tax policy vision this way will only fuel those criticisms.

Here is the video.

The Tax Policy Center has this to say about Obama's and Sen. John McCain's tax proposals:

Both John McCain and Barack Obama have proposed tax plans that would substantially increase the national debt over the next ten years, according to a newly updated analysis by the non-partisan Tax Policy Center. Compared to current law, TPC estimates the Obama plan would cut taxes by $2.9 trillion from 2009-2018. McCain would reduce taxes by nearly $4.2 trillion. Obama would give larger tax cuts to low- and moderate-income households and pay some of the cost by raising taxes on high-income taxpayers. In contrast, McCain would cut taxes across the board and give the biggest cuts to the highest-income households.

Neither candidate?s plan would significantly increase economic growth unless offset by spending cuts or tax increases that the campaigns have not specified.

Compared to current law, TPC estimates the Obama plan would cut taxes by $2.9 trillion from 2009-2018. McCain would reduce taxes by nearly $4.2 trillion. These projections assume the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts expire in 2010 and that the Alternative Minimum Tax is fully effective.

Here is the center's entire report, written by Roberton Williams and Howard Gleckman. The Tax Policy Center is a joint venture of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution. The Center is made up of nationally recognized experts in tax, budget, and social policy who have served at the highest levels of government.

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