The Meaning Of ‘Tax Cut’ Is . . .
Today’s Wall Street Journal editorializes on the campaign claim of presidential aspirant Barack Obama, writing:
“One of Barack Obama's most potent campaign claims is that he'll cut taxes for no less than 95% of "working families." He's even promising to cut taxes enough that the government's tax share of GDP will be no more than 18.2% -- which is lower than it is today.
“It's a clever pitch, because it lets him pose as a middle-class tax cutter while disguising that he's also proposing one of the largest tax increases ever on the other 5%. But how does he conjure this miracle, especially since more than a third of all Americans already pay no income taxes at all? There are several sleights of hand, but the most creative is to redefine the meaning of "tax cut."
“For the Obama Democrats, a tax cut is no longer letting you keep more of what you earn. In their lexicon, a tax cut includes tens of billions of dollars in government handouts that are disguised by the phrase "tax credit."
The Journal notes he has proposed “to create or expan no fewer than seven such credits for individuals.” Such things as a $500 tax credit to”make work pay,” or a 10% mortgage interest tax credit, which is in addition to the existing mortgage interest deduction.
As we growled on September 20, there are taxpayers and taxtakers, and under Obama’s plan, the number of taxtakers would grow to 44% of all tax filers. Those numbers are not our creation, but rather come from the Tax Foundation. Oh, and while Obama likes to trash the policies of the Bush administration, the Tax Foundation reported a “dramatic 57 percent increase since 2000 in the number of Americans who pay no personal income taxes.”
Wall Street Journal’s William McGurn concluded his column last Tuesday by writing:
“Barring divine intervention, a President Obama would not have a Republican Congress to worry about. Instead, he would be working with a Democratic speaker of the House who loaded billions in pork onto a bill meant to fund our troops; with a Democratic Senate majority leader who promised to change the way Congress spent but fought earmark reform; and with committee leaders such as Sen. Chris Dodd and Rep. Barney Frank, who did so much to bring us the financial implosion of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
“In this kind of Washington, the American taxpayer could use a Gary Cooper: the "High Noon" lawman willing to stand up for us when everyone else is ducking for cover. Marshal McCain, anyone?” (emphasis added)
Hmmmm? 95% will get a tax cut, but 44% of tax filers pay no taxes. Can someone do the math? And check the graphic that accompanied the Journal's editorial today:
