http://www.azcentral.com/news/columns/articles/0820robb20.htmlKerry's tax claim a flop - if Bush quits duckin
Robert Robb
Republic columnist
Aug. 20, 2004 12:00 AM
John Kerry claims that a recent Congressional Budget Office report proves that the tax "burden" on the middle class has gone up as a result of the Bush tax cuts.
It's hard to know where to begin to explain why this claim is false.
In the first place, the CBO relied on 2001 income data. The Bush tax cuts weren't fully implemented until 2003. So, the study is based upon income and tax projections, not actual results. <snip>
According to the CBO report, the percentage of overall federal taxes paid by the wealthy will go down over time and the percentage paid by middle-class and lower-income Americans will go up.
And so, according to Kerry logic, the "burden" on the middle class is going up, even though its taxes are going down.(OF COURSE OUR KIDS WILL PAY THE DEFICIT SO THAT DOES NOT COUNT)<snip>
The last year the Bush rate cuts are in effect before being sunseted is 2010. According to the CBO report, in that year the percentage of federal taxes paid by the top 20 percent of income earners will actually be higher than it would have been if the Bush tax cuts had not been enacted.(YOU'D think he would explain "Why")
The only way to prevent or substantially ameliorate it is to either index the brackets for real income growth or continue to reduce marginal tax rates.<SNIP> (but not a bad idea)....
Kerry, and even more sharply John Edwards, are hostile to private-sector investment. Their tax policies would shrink the pool of private investment capital and reduce the incentives to put it to work.(BULL - TAX INVESTMENT AT 100 CENTS ON THE DOLLAR SO RICH DO NOT GET A FREE RIDE)
Reach Robb at robert.robb@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8472. His column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.