Excerpted from WSJ: “The Tax Issue Still Resonates”, Karl Rove,
Oct. 2, 2008
* * * * *
Conventional wisdom says tax cuts have lost their political power. One reason offered for the alleged decline of tax cuts as a potent issue is that since 2000, tax cuts have taken 13 million filers off of the income tax rolls. Today, one-third of all filers have no federal income tax liability and nearly 40% of all federal income taxes are now paid by the top 1% of taxpayers (60% by the top 5%). The fewer people who are paying taxes, the fewer people who care about tax cuts, or so goes the reasoning.
* * * * *
In a July 2008 Pew Poll, 52% of Americans said it was “difficult to afford” taxes. By comparison, 46% said the same about health care, 49% about home heating/electric bills, and 38% about food.
* * * * *
Obama says that only the top 5% will pay higher taxes under his proposals.
But, nearly three out of every four filers who’ll pay higher taxes under a President Obama are small businesses, the source of most new jobs and growth.
An Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center study found that 73% of the filers hit by Mr. Obama’s tax increases report business income — i.e., they are small business owners. His tax hikes will affect every worker at those enterprises.
* * * * *
Ken’s POV:
The bottom line is that Obama’s tax hikes won’t impact you unless you work for a big company, a small company, or buy stuff from either big or small companies — who will simply increase prices to offset higher taxes.
* * * * *
Want more from the Homa Files?
Click link => The Homa Files Blog
The Homa Files 