Bush Tax Cuts: Both Parties Are Fudging the Facts

Is anybody telling the truth on the Bush tax cuts? Politico may come closest.

Certainly, in the lily-white-and-purity department, neither political party walks with the angels.

According to a Politico story Tuesday,the Democrats merrily skirt around the fact that, while the GOP-backed across-the-board tax cuts would cost $6 trillion over 10 years, the middle-class-only cuts wouldn't come cheap either. Estimated cost for the Democrat-backed cuts: $4 trillion.

Then there's the favorite GOP argument that the Republicans are the only ones who protect small-business owners. But Politico bursts that bubble.

Jane Gravelle of the Congressional Research Service is quoted as saying that only a tiny percentage of small-business owners would be affected if tax rates rose for individuals earning more than $200,000 a year. As a matter of fact, according to other research, only 2to 3 percent of small-business owners would be affected in any way.

Politico claims the Dems like to make the tax-cut debate a class-warfare issue. But the figures don't compute. The wealthiest taxpayers will still get a tax even under the middle-class-only renewal. Why? Because everyone, rich or poor, gets a break on the first $250,000 of income. In fact, the more people earn, the bigger their break. Those who earn more than $1 million would see a larger tax cut in dollar terms, about $6,300, than those at the lower end of the income scale. For example, a taxpayer who makes an annual salary of $30,000 would receive a cut of $771, while a person who takes home $100,000 gets a $3,766 break.

The Politico story explains much more in plain language.