Romney campaign attacks tax analysis from group it once praised

August 01, 2012|By Chris Durden | KWCH 12 Eyewitness News

(WASHINGTON) — Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's economic plan would benefit the rich and increase taxes on the middle class and those with lower incomes. That's the finding of experts at the non-partisan Tax Policy Center.

An analysis found Romney's tax cuts would increase after-tax income by an average of 4.1 percent for those earning more than $1 million a year. However, it would reduce the after-tax income of individuals earning less than $200,000 by 1.2 percent.

This means the average American would pay an additional $500 per year while millionaires would see their taxes lowered by approx. $87,000 annually.

Most Americans, 95 percent, make under $200,000 a year.

Click to Read the Complete Analysis

Romney says he wants to cut taxes by 20 percent across the board.

Researchers say because the value of the 20 percent tax cut for richer Americans would exceed the gains they get from popular tax breaks that Romney would eliminate, they would see the greatest income gain in a Romney presidency.

Roughly two-thirds of the $1.1 trillion in revenues the federal government receives each year would have to be eliminated or greatly reduced to fund Romney's tax cut, the analysts said.

These include the mortgage interest deduction, the break for employer-provided health insurance, and credits for low- and middle-income families.

The Romney campaign responded to the report by calling the Tax Policy Center a "liberal" group and the study biased. However, earlier this year the campaign praised the organization as "objective" in a press release critical of then-candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

President Obama and his re-election campaign seized on the report, saying it proves what they've said all along. "He’s not asking you to contribute more to pay down the deficit, or to invest in our kids’ education," the president said during a visit to Ohio Wenesday, "he’s asking you to pay more so that people like him can get a tax cut.”

Congress is deciding whether to extend the Bush-era tax cuts which expire at the end of the year. It too provided a tax benefit for the wealthiest Americans.

The authors of the report include Adam Looney, who served on the Council of Economic Advisers during the Obama Administration, and William G. Gale, who served on the same board during the presidency of George H.W. Bush.

*Information from Reuters was used in compiling this report.

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