Obama vs Romney on Tax Rates
Posted on May 21, 2012 by
Paul WhiteRecently I was reading the Economist, and they had an article that talked about what Obama and Romney really want to do with regards to taxes and revenues. This was the first time I had ever seen both candidates proposals laid out side by side.
Pulled from the April 21st 2012 Issue of the Economist.
( Highly recommend this magazine for political junkies )
| Barack Obama
| Mitt Romney
|
Corporate Taxes
| Lower rate to 28% from 35%, minimum tax on foreign earnings
| Lower rate to 25%, eliminate tax on foreign earnings
|
Personal Taxes
| Return top rates to 36% and 39.6% from current 33% and 35%, impose 30% minimum "Buffet Rule" for millionaires
| Cut all rates by 20% top rate would fall to 28%
|
Capital Gains, Dividends
| Raise capital gains rate to 20% from 15%; tax dividends for affluent as ordinary income
| Eliminate for taxpayers earning under $200,000
|
Medicare
| Indepenent Payment Advisory Board recommends remedies if cost grow too quickly
| Raise eligibility age; vouchers competing with traditional Medicare
|
Medicaid
| Under Obamacare, expanded to families earning 133% of poverty level in 2014
| Convert to block grants
|
Social Security
| No Proposal
| Raise retirement age
|
Federal Spending
| 22.2% of GDP by 2017
| Below 20% by 2017 ( end of first term )
|
Deficit
| 2.5% of GDP by 2017
| Will balance budget ( no date promised )
|
China
| New "trade enforcement unit" to monitor compliance by China and others
| Designate China a currency manipulator
|
Global Warming
| EPA limits on CO2 emissions by cars, factories, utilities
| Prohibit EPA from regulating CO2 emissions
|
Regulation
| Keep Dodd-Frank financial reform; eliminate redundant rules selectively
| Replace Dodd-Frank with new, unspecified framework; cap cost of new regulations at zero
|
After reading through the differences between the two candidates, I am leaning more towards Romney. Lower tax rates, and more friendly to investors under 200K. Although their goals mean nothing if they can't get them through congress. I wonder how many of these things can be executed via an executive order? I still wish all loopholes and specialized deductions were wiped out, as the tax rates mean nothing if certain businesses are getting a hook up from the government.
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