Barack Obama has spent a significant amount of time promoting his comprehensive tax plan to voters. Senator Obama has been saying for months now, that under his plan, families making under $250,000 a year, would not see their taxes increase under his administration. Yet, during a radio interview on Monday, Senator Biden had this to say about taxes:
“Under the old tax policy that was put in by George Bush, people making an average of $1.4 million a year, good people, decent people, patriotic, they’re going to get an $87 billion tax break. What we’re saying is that $87 billion tax break doesn’t need to go to people making an average of $14. million, it should go like it used to – it should go to middle-class people, people making under $150,000 a year.”
Now, I must say, that reasoning, conflicts with what is the official policy on Barack Obama’s website under the Obama Plan, which can all be found at Barack Obama’s website in full, and I quote:
- Middle Class families will see their taxes cut – and no family making less than $250,000 will see their taxes increase.
- Families making more than $250,000 will pay either the same or lower tax rates than they paid in the 1990s.
- Obama’s plan will cut taxes overall, reducing revenues to below the levels that prevailed under Ronald Reagan.
So what does all this mean? Is this yet another gaffe by Senator Biden or is this a sign of things to come?
I know it’s been well reported on that Barack Obama has lot of spending he wants to do once he gets to the White House, if he’s fortunate to serve. With that being said, does this mean that his tax plan is undergoing some serious revisions? To me, this wouldn’t be an earth shattering development because, of course, the plan will need to change! Why do you ask? Because there aren’t enough of the extremely wealthy out there to support all of his spending measures.
There are a couple of things in Obama’s plan that causes my eyebrows to raise:
- Putting aside the monetary classification of this plan, what is a middle class family? Is a family just a husband and a wife? Or do you need to have a certain amount of children to qualify under middle class? Interesting on how the mainstream media just seems to leave out this all important point. It kind of reminds me of the 2000 campaign when Al Gore said there would be “targeted” tax cuts. Could the language in the Obama plan be misleading? Perhaps, I’d have to wait and see the final plan when and if he wins the Oval Office.
- Under this plan, Obama will, quote,
“Ask the wealthiest 2% of families to give back a portion of the taxes they have received over the past eight years to ensure we are restoring fairness and returning to fiscal responsibility.”
- What exactly does this mean? A lot has been said about Obama and redistributing the wealth, and I won’t rehash any of that here. Does this mean, that the wealthiest 2% will have to revise their previous tax returns and pay back taxes? And what’s this about restoring fairness to the tax system? Apparently someone is asleep at the switch here, since when is any tax policy fair?? Hello???? Anyone home???? There is no way for a tax system to be fair. There are always going to be special interests, some people will want deductions for x, and y. The only way a tax system can be fair is for their to be a flat tax where everyone pays the same percentage, but that’s something I’m convinced will never see the light of day. Steve Forbes is really onto something here, but I digress.
- How does this plan address small business owners who file their taxes on a standard form 1040? Now, I don’t claim to know anything about the tax code, but if small business owners are filing the 1040, and they provide jobs, does this mean they will pay a higher tax rate? This loophole needs to be figured out in this comprehensive plan.
However you want to cut the pie, it sounds to me that Barack Obama is suggesting raising taxes during an economic downturn. That stance is definitely not good for a struggling economy, and it has the potential to backfire on you significantly. Quick, someone needs to ask Herbert Hoover about that.
I went to Obama’s website and used his nifty tax calculator and it showed that I would get a $1,000 tax credit, rebate, refund, whatever you want to call it. However, I also realize, that these things can change significantly between election day, and an actual, finalized package is presented to Congress. Until then, I am going to remain skeptical about this, and John McCain’s plan.
What I can tell you though is that I’m personally against using the phrase “Redistribution of Wealth”, and I also don’t approve of punishing successful people with higher taxes, so that those who don’t work as hard are given free handouts. To me, that penalizes you for successfully pursuing the American Dream, something citizens of our country strove for from the very beginning, and still do today.
References:
ABC News: “McCain Jumps on Another Biden Interview for Hit on Taxes”
Barack Obama: Taxes
