I noted yesterday that John McCain spent most of his time in front of the Hispanic organization LULAC talking about the economy. He emphasized repeatedly that Barack Obama, who McCain paints as a classic tax-raising liberal, would be bad for small business. They wouldn’t be able to expand or hire with the new tax burden Obama would place upon them. Here’s an example from yesterday’s speech:
“Keeping individual rates low isn’t intended as a favor to wealthy Americans. 23 million small business owners pay those rates, and taking more money from them deprives them of the capital they need to invest and grow and hire. If you believe you should pay more taxes, I am the wrong candidate for you.”
This echoes statements made repeatedly by Carly Fiorina, McCain’s favorite ex-CEO and a top surrogate for his campaign. For example, she had this to say recently:
“When Barack Obama blithely says only the wealthiest are going to be taxed, he is ignoring the fact that 23 million small businesses file as individuals and those small businesses are the only growing sector of the economy right now.”
Here’s the problem. Yes, 23 million small businesses file as individuals. But Obama is proposing to raise taxes on individuals making over $250,000. And according to the Tax Policy Center (as reported by Politico) only 1.4 percent of small business owners make the cut. “Most small-business people, like most everyone else, are not really high-income,” said Eric Tolder, senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center.
For a breakdown of how McCain and Obama’s tax plans would affect you, see this video.
