- Tax Plans -

I have found some side-by-side comparisons on a couple of non-partisan websites but they don't totally jive with each other and when I click the source link to see where they get their info, I didn't see all of what they were declaring. I checked Obama's website and he had an easy tax plan to read whereas the McCain website didn't have anything that was a detailed "tax plan". He seems to glom together energy, healthcare, taxes, and new markets under his economic plan. The tax section was a brief 5 points.

Historically

Finally, as one of the articles points out, "when comparing taxes at least, it is hard not to conclude that, as historically has been true, Democrats tend to favor small business and Republicans tend to favor big business."

And that's where ideology of the two parties is important to keep in mind. If you believe in a "we society versus a me society" then historically Democrats would follow your ideology more then Republicans. And "if you think that people on a whole can be trusted with lots of power and money," then the Republican ideology of free markets is for you. On our recent financial crisis, "Greenspan was 'shocked' that free markets are flawed and admitted that he had put too much faith in the self-correcting power of free markets and had failed to anticipate the self-destructive power of wanton mortgage lending."

Finally, don't throw the baby out with the bath water. Just because, for example, the de-regulation on derivatives created the mess we are in doesn't mean we need to dump the scales to the other side of too much government regulation.

Obama - Support Small Business

• Won't raise any tax rate on families making less than $250,000 per year
• Eliminate capital gains taxes on start-up and small businesses.
• Provide a $500 “Making Work Pay” tax credit to almost every worker in America. Self-employed small business owners pay both the employee and the employer side of the payroll tax, and this measure will reduce the burdens of this double taxation.
• $3,000 refundable credit for each additional full-time employee hired in 2009 and 2010
• Increase small business expenses limit to $250,000 in 2008 and 2009

McCain - Support Big Business

• Tax plan basically won't affect small biz for good or bad.
• McCain's proposed reduction in the corporate tax rate relates to C corporations because 1) most small businesses are either S corporations, LLCs or sole proprietorships, and most S corps and LCC's don't make that much money - $1 million.

Tax Cuts - middle-income - highest income

Abstract from the Tax Policy Center says:
Both John McCain and Barack Obama have proposed tax plans that would substantially increase the national debt over the next ten years, according to a newly updated analysis by the non-partisan Tax Policy Center. Compared to current law, TPC estimates the Obama plan would cut taxes by $2.9 trillion from 2009-2018. McCain would reduce taxes by nearly $4.2 trillion. BUT Obama would give larger tax cuts to low- and moderate-income households and pay some of the cost by raising taxes on high-income taxpayers. In contrast, McCain would cut taxes across the board and give the biggest cuts to the highest-income households.

Resources

Fact Check.org I like this site because it's non-partisan.

Here is an article that explains the two tax plans as I understand it

Obama Full tax plan
Obama McCain Comparison (obviously research is needed when it comes to McCain's info)

Key tax facts

Last Word

Taxes are important but we need a President who can present American foreign policy and economic policy that respects the diversity of the world. We can't have an angry, heavy-fisted war monger in office because the world won't stand for it and America is not the only one with the power to destroy.