Responding to
criticism that his tax cut plan will not lower taxes for the wealthy and
create a larger budget deficit Mitt Romney said that no economist could say his
plan didn’t work because he (Romney) says it does work.
None of these would cost the Treasury a dime, he insisted, because he would reduce deductions and loopholes. But, as always, he refused to enumerate a single deduction he would erase. “What I’ve said is I won’t put in place a tax cut that adds to the deficit,” he said. “No economist can say Mitt Romney’s tax plan adds $5 trillion if I say I will not add to the deficit with my tax plan.”
Of course, there have been hundred of
economists who can and have said that. And now the staff of the Joint Tax Committee
of the Senate has
reached the same conclusion.
The report assumes that
Congress allows today's reduced rates to rise in January and concludes that the
elimination of certain provisions (the AMT; limitations on itemized deductions
and personal exemptions for certain taxpayers; itemized deductions; preferential
rates for capital gains and dividends; interest exclusion on state and local
bonds) would fund only a 4% decrease in all ordinary income tax rates (from 15%
to 14.4%; 28% to 26.9%; 31% to 29.8%; 36% to 34.6%; and 39.6% to 38.0%). The
report did not consider the exclusion for employer-provided health care; earned
income tax credit; child tax credit; and retirement and pension provisions.
Wow, complete and total evidence that Mr. Romney’s numbers
do not add up. And Mr. Romney wants rates
cut 20% across the board from today’s rates, not from the rates that will be in
effect in 2013.
Anybody see the headlines bringing this information to the
American people? Anybody?
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