A new report by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center due out today said that Mitt Romney’s tax plan would provide tax cuts to the richest five percent of Americans, while hiking taxes on the rest.
And today, in a campaign appearance in Ohio, President Barack Obama harped on that report, telling his audience that Mr. Romney wants them to pay more so that he can give tax cuts to his wealthy allies.
According to excerpts sent out by Obama for America:
“And yet, the centerpiece of my opponent’s entire economic plan is a new, $5 trillion tax cut. A lot of this tax cut would go to the wealthiest 1% of all households. Folks making more than $3 million a year – the top one-tenth of one percent – would get a tax cut worth almost a quarter of a million dollars. A quarter of a million dollars.
“But it gets worse. Under my opponent’s plan, guess who gets the bill for these $250,000 tax cuts? You do. And you don’t have to take my word for it.
“Just today, an independent, non-partisan organization ran all the numbers. And they found that if Governor Romney wants to keep his word and pay for his plan, he’d have to cut tax breaks that middle-class families depend on to pay for your home, or your health care, or send your kids to college. That means the average middle-class family with children would be hit with a tax increase of more than $2,000.
“But here’s the thing – he’s not asking you to contribute more to pay down the deficit, or to invest in our kids’ education. He’s asking you to pay more so that people like him can get a tax cut.”
At the center of the Romney plan is a measure which would reduce tax rates by 20 percent, repeal the estate tax and eliminate taxes on investment income for middle-class taxpayers.
In a story about the report, even the normally sober-minded Washington Post sounds alarmed.
They noted that the Tax Policy study seemed to “bend over backward to be fair to the Republican presidential candidate” by looking at “what would happen if Republicans’ dreams for tax reform came true and the proposal generated significant revenue through economic growth.”
The result?
His rate-cutting plan for individuals would reduce tax collections by about $360 billion in 2015, the study says. To avoid increasing deficits — as Romney has pledged — the plan would have to generate an equivalent amount of revenue by slashing tax breaks for mortgage interest, employer-provided health care, education, medical expenses, state and local taxes, and child care — all breaks that benefit the middle class.
The Romney campaign has not weighed in on this yet, but we will update if they do.
