Tax Hikes Will Leave Middle Class Families with Little More than the Change in their Pockets
We hear a lot about “change”, and it usually involves politicians making grand promises with other people’s money. That is, with our money.
Senator Obama and the Democrats in Congress plan to raise taxes in ways that will hit nearly every American. So hold on to your wallet:
Millions of workers will take home less: Senator Obama has stated that a key plank of his tax platform would be to eliminate the Social Security earnings cap, which would effectively reduce the take-home pay of millions of Americans.
Fact:"Earlier this year, the Heritage Foundation analyzed the effect of eliminating the earnings cap. The think tank found that in the first year alone, the take-home pay of 10.3 million workers would be reduced by an average $5,650. Taxes would be raised on 4 million workers over the age of 50." (Editorial, "Caps Off For Obama," Investor's Business Daily, 9/25/07)
Fact:“People respond to what they get to keep after tax, which the Obama plan reduces from 55.4 cents on the dollar to 37.7 cents, a reduction of one-third in the after-tax wage! Despite the rhetoric, that’s not just on “rich” individuals. It’s also on a lot of small businesses and two-earner middle aged middle class couples in their peak earnings years in high cost-of-living areas.” (Michael Boskin, “A Closer Look at Obamanomics.”)
Individual investors will suffer: The Obama tax plan calls for massive tax hikes in capital-gains taxes from investments. This would affect millions of Americans who count on savings and investment income to help support their families and retirements.
Fact:In 2006, more than 26.7 million U.S. taxpayers reported capital gains income. (Internal Revenue Service, "Individual Income and Tax Data, by State and Size of Adjusted Gross Income, Tax Year 2006," www.irs.gov)