GOP response is a lie that "Kerry's tax claim a flop "

[papau]

http://www.azcentral.com/news/columns/articles/0820robb20.html

Kerry'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 [e-mail] or [phone]. His column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

[trotsky]

1. You wanna know who's hostile to private-sector investment?

These moron Republicans who think that $500+ billion deficits are no big deal. Newsflash dipshits: where do you think the money comes from to support those deficits? Yes, that's right - INVESTORS. Government bonds, securities, T-bills. Money that COULD be used to invest in the private sector, if there weren't so many ample opportunities to pump money into the gaping maw of Bush deficits.

[bigtree]

2. The Headlines Say It All

-- Wealthiest taxpayers saw share of federal taxes drop from 64.4 percent in 2001 to 63.5 percent this year. "the wealthiest 20 percent, whose incomes averaged $182,700 in 2001, saw their share of federal taxes drop from 64.4 percent of total tax payments in 2001 to 63.5 percent this year." (Washington Post, "Tax Burden Shifts to the Middle," 8/13/04)

-- Middle-class families saw their tax burden jump from 18.7 percent of Federal taxes to 19.5 percent of Federal taxes. Over that same period, taxpayers with incomes from around $51,500 to around $75,600 saw their share of federal tax payments increase. Households earning around $75,600 saw their tax burden jump the most, from 18.7 percent of all taxes to 19.5 percent. (Washington Post, "Tax Burden Shifts to the Middle," 8/13/04)

Middle-class Got Disproportionately Smaller Tax Cuts

-- Middle-class got disproportionately small tax cuts. "The report, made at the Democrats' request, confirms what the Democrats and their presidential nominee, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, have charged - that the wealthy disproportionately benefit." (WSJ, "Budget Office Says Biggest Tax Cuts Go the Richest 1 percent, 8/13/04)

-- The richest got the largest boost to their income from the Bush tax cuts. "The average after-tax income for people in the top 1 percent of income earners climbed 10.1 percent, while that of those in the middle 20 percent climbed 2.3 percent, and that of those in the bottom fifth only 1.6 percent." (New York Times, "Report Finds Tax Cuts Heavily Favor the Wealthy," 8/13/04)

More details: http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?ReleaseID=34703

[Cassandra]

3. Get a grip, guys...

some of us little people also get returns from T-bills and bonds (and higher interest rates would give me some extra money so that I could contribute more to Democratic candidates). The problem is that investment in plant and equipment is pointless when consumer spending is down. Companies are using the current climate to invest overseas so that each sale they do get is more profitable for them. This is not a situation that can go on indefinitely. Eventually, we will all run out of customers. My sales has been shitty for the entire time * has been in office.
That said, the writer of the editorial should have his head examined.

[papau]

4. consumer spending has held up for 3 years - it is not the absolute yield

that determines that that an investment has ROI that is over the hurdle rate - indeed it is the hurldle rate itself - and that is based on the state the economy is in and expected to be in as reflected in the 10 year bond rate.

but we agree

"That said, the writer of the editorial should have his head examined."

:toast:

:-)