Fox News: Kerry's Tax Increase On the "Rich" a Lie

Fox News | 10/20/04

[pabianice]

Just on Fox News: using Kerry's own numbers, the "tax roll-back for the rich" will effect anyone making over $ 146,000 a year, not $ 200,000.

How many "rich people" out there making $ 146,000?

[mike182d]

Kerry? Lie? No way...

[bcoffey]

Actually, for those filing as "Married Filing Separately," Kerry's plan reaches down to incomes of $89,000.

And even lower if he rescinds the capital gains tax rate.

[lahargis]

I heard that once you make 146,701 you are penalized 2,080.00.....

[Paul C. Jesup]

I saw that. The person making over $200.000 dollars a year would actually have $5.00 less after taxes than the other person paying less than $200.000 dollars a year.

It makes me sick that the Kerrys have their 13% income tax rate while that rest of us pay 20% to 30%.

[Puppage]

He was for 200k...well, YOU know.

[Camachee]

How many "rich people" out there making $ 146,000?

In liberal think, anyone making $100K is a millionaire cuz $1M would be earned over 10 years.

[WoodstockCat]

It's ok, according to his brilliant benevolent benefactor and partner for life we don't have real jobs anyway.

[hawaiian]

THIS IS HUGE!!! He looked right in the camera and lied. His 'read the lips' comment is debunked BEFORE the election!!!!

[Always Right]

What's even worse is Kerry is claiming this rollback will save some $330 Billion over the next 10 years and is his biggest sourse of new revenue. The problem is even it the tax rates are rolled by to those earning less than $200,000, there is no way he will get close to half of what he claims.

[Hi Heels]

Per person or married couple? Married couple? Nearly ALL of them. Small business filing on 'S' corp? 70% of the job market? ALL of them. He's going to kill us.

[MHT]

How can Kerry get through a tax increase without the help of the Senate and House? Someone should point out that there's no way he can keep this kind of promise. Notice that Kerry isn't telling audiences to elect all the Dems on the ticket to help him out in DC the way that W used to try to bring other candidates along.

This guy is such an arrogant solo-artist, he thinks that the President can do everything alone. Kinda like King-of-the-Universe. Maybe he's running for the wrong job.

[Mannaggia l'America]

To a DemocRat who makes $40,000, anyone who makes $40,001 or more is rich.

You have to give the 'rats credit... more people than ever become "rich" under Democrat administrations.

[carrier-aviator]

Yes. And he has never made it clear how it affects single filers. On one occasion he says "families making $200,000." On another he has "people."

Speaking of wages: how sick are you of the inonation of "I want to give tax breaks to "working people," or "working families." Which begs the question, what does "working" mean? Does Dan Rather work? Although it is for nefarious purposes, I would have to say "yes." Does George Soros work? Ditto. Does Donald Trump work? Yup. So, Monsieur Kerry favors tax breaks for these people?

Of course, Kerry (and the Dems') use of "working" is a euphemism for "lower class" a term they dare not use.

[Always Right]

I did a post on this subject about 10 days ago: John Kerry...Read My Lips!

In a statement reminiscent of the first President Bush’s ‘read my lips, no new taxes’, Kerry was asked during the last nights debate to give a “solemn pledge not to sign any legislation that will increase the tax burden on families earning less than $200,000 a year during your first term.”

Senator Kerry responded, “Absolutely. Yes. Right into the camera. Yes. I am not going to raise taxes.” Kerry stated further in his answer, "I'm pledging I will not raise taxes; I'm giving a tax cut to the people earning less than $200,000 a year. Now, for the people earning more than $200,000 a year, you're going to see a rollback to the level we were at with Bill Clinton, when people made a lot of money."

Unfortunately for Kerry that pledge not to raise taxes on those earning less than $200,000 is in clear opposition to Kerry’s economic plan on Kerry’s very own website.

The table at the end of the document which details Kerry's economic plan, shows where Kerry would get the biggest chunk of new taxes by restoring the top two tax brackets. This huge tax increase will generate some $337 Billion in new taxes over the next 10 years according to Kerry's projections. The top two brackets Kerry is referring to is the 36% and 39.6% which Clinton created and Bush lowered in 2001. The problem for Kerry is, going back to those tax rates will reach many taxpayers earning below the $200,000 level, and to get the $337 Billion Kerry claims, it must be a complete rollback of those brackets and not just those over $200,000.

In 2000, the last year of those rates, the 36% rate kicked in at these levels:

Married filing separately: $80,725
Single: $132,600
Married filing jointly: $161,450
Head of Household: $147,050

Even adjusting for inflation, and using the 2004 bracket levels, those numbers are all still well below the $200,000 level Kerry pledged not to raise taxes on. This is not a minor lie, this is a whopper of one. Kerry looked right into the camera on national TV and made this pledge, which is clearly out of whack with the centerpiece of his tax proposal. Kerry is lying about taxes. There are more than 8 million families who reported income between $100,000 and $200,000 according to the IRS. Kerry's lie will mean a tax increase many if not most of these families.

[Legion04]

Just ask kerry, he can pick you right out an audience and know how much money you make, just by looking at you!

[TeddyCon]

And according to Fox's money & tax specialist, if Taxpayer A makes 195k a year, and Taxpayer B makes 205k a year, Taxpayer B will only pay $5 USD more in taxes at year's end.

And then, it's so much for John Kerry's having championed the besieged 'middle class'.

[gov_bean_ counter]

During Clinton's first run when he was talking about taxing the "rich", Dan Quayle was destroyed for saying the Dems definition of "rich" started at 34,000 or so. He was pretty close.

[hawkaw]

hmm ... seeing he looked into the camera at the debate and said he would not raise the rates on the middle class, this story could be the biggest story of the day if not the week if the pubbies and others play their cards right!

This ranks up there with Bush41 fiasco of saying he would not raise taxes and he did.

[Paradox]

This whole facade just reminds me of how much we need income tax reform. Flat tax? NRST? Anything has got to be better than what we have...