Contact: Press Office, 703-650-5550; www.JohnMcCain.com
ARLINGTON, Virginia, Aug. 15 /Standard Newswire/ -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today released its latest television ad, entitled "Taxman." The ad highlights Barack Obama's agenda to raise taxes that are a "recipe for economic disaster." The ad will air in key states.
VIEW THE AD HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tZQRXTrRKs
Script For "Taxman" (TV :30)
ANNCR: Celebrity? Yes. Ready to lead? No.
Obama's new taxes could break your family budget.
The press warns the "taxman cometh".
Obama's taxes mean "higher prices at the pump".
Obama's taxes a "recipe for economic disaster".
Higher taxes. Higher gas prices. Economic disaster.
That's the real Obama.
JOHN MCCAIN: I'm John McCain and I approved this message.
AD FACTS: Script For "Taxman" (TV :30)
ANNCR: Celebrity? Yes. Ready to lead? No. Obama's new taxes could break your family budget.
· Barack Obama Has Called For Higher Income Taxes, Social Security Taxes, Capital Gains And Dividend Taxes, And Corporate Taxes, As Well As "Massive New Domestic Spending." "Obama's transformation, if you go by his campaign so far, would mean higher income taxes, higher Social Security taxes, higher investment taxes, higher corporate taxes, massive new domestic spending, and a healthcare plan that perhaps could be the next step to a full-scale, single-payer system. Is that what most Americans want, someone who will fulfill a Democratic policy wish list?" (James Pethokoukis, "Barack Hussein Reagan? Ronald Wilson Obama?" U.S. News & World Report's "Capital Commerce" Blog, www.usnews.com, 2/12/08)
· Barack Obama Would Raise Social Security (Payroll) Taxes. "Obama's proposal ... would impose social security taxes on income above $250,000 per year. He would continue to exempt income between $102,000 and $250,000 from social security taxes." (Teddy Davis, Sunlen Miller, and Gregory Wallace, "Obama Kisses Billions Goodbye," ABC News' "Political Radar" Blog, blogs.abcnews.com, 6/18/08)
· Barack Obama Would Raise Income Taxes. Obama: "[I] would roll back the Bush tax cuts for those making over $250,000." (Sen. Barack Obama, CNN Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Manchester, NH, 6/3/07)
· U.S. Department Of Treasury: Small Business Owners "Are Frequently Subject To The Highest Individual Income Tax Rates." "Changes in the individual income tax affect most businesses in the United States. That is because taxes on business earnings are often paid through the individual income tax when 'passed-through' to business owners. The business income from sole proprietorships, farm proprietorships, partnerships, S corporations, etc., is all taxed at the owners' individual income tax rates. This year 34 million business owners are expected to receive this type of income and pay tax on this income through the individual income tax. These businesses are typically small and often entrepreneurial in nature, and a source of innovation and risk-taking in the economy. Moreover, these business owners are frequently subject to the highest individual income tax rates." ("Topics Related To The President's Tax Relief," U.S. Departm ent Of Treasury, http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/reports/president_taxrelief_topics_0508.pdf, May 2008)
· Barack Obama Would Raise Capital Gains And Dividend Taxes. "Sen. Obama wants to raise the long-term capital-gains rate for families making more than $250,000 to around 20 percent or somewhat higher but not above the 28 percent level it reached during the Reagan presidency, an Obama economic adviser says. The same rate would apply to most dividend income for these investors." (Tom Herman, "Tax Report Your Tax Bill: How McCain, Obama Differ," The Associated Press, 6/18/08)
· In 2006, Over 26.7 Million U.S. Taxpayers Reported Capital Gains Income. (Internal Revenue Service Website, "Individual Income And Tax Data, By State And Size Of Adjusted Gross Income, Tax Year 2006," www.irs.gov, Accessed 7/30/08)
· In 2006, Over 31.5 Million U.S. Taxpayers Reported Dividend Income. (Internal Revenue Service Website, "Individual Income And Tax Data, By State And Size Of Adjusted Gross Income, Tax Year 2006," www.irs.gov, Accessed 7/30/08)
· Barack Obama Called For Tax Hikes On "Dirty Energy" Such As Coal And Natural Gas. Obama: "What we ought to tax is dirty energy, like coal and, to a lesser extent, natural gas." ("Q&A With Sen. Barack Obama," San Antonio Express-News, 2/19/08)
· Even Barack Obama Admits That His Tax Increases May Harm The Economy. CNBC'S JOHN HARWOOD: "And I found this fascinating, Maria, that on the issue of taxes, he looked to insulate himself by saying that if, in fact, economic conditions justify the fact that it might harm the economy, he might be willing to hold off some of his tax increases when he takes office in January. Let's take a listen to Barack Obama." BARACK OBAMA: "Some of those, you could possibly defer. But I think the basic principle of restoring fairness to our economy and encouraging bottom-up economic growth is important. So here's what we know: We know that over the last decade or so, that more than half of the economic growth has been captured by the top one percent of U.S. citizens. That means the other 99 percent have seen their effective incomes go down. That is not a recipe for long- term economic growth." (CNBC, 6/9/08)
· Tax Policy Center: Barack Obama Would Raise Taxes On One Out Of Every Three Senior Households. "Even though Senator Obama's plan eliminates individual income taxes for seniors with incomes less than $50,000, his plan would raise taxes for almost 10 million senior households, over a third of the total (not shown in table). On average, seniors would face a tax increase of about 2 percent of income." (Burman et al., "A Preliminary Analysis of the 2008 Presidential Candidates' Tax Plans," The Tax Policy Center, 6/11/08)
· The Wall Street Journal Said Barack Obama's Plan To Raise The Top Income Tax Rates Would "Stunt Small Business." "The clear implication is that raising the U.S. personal income tax rates would also stunt small business entrepreneurship. Yet this is precisely what all of the Democratic Presidential candidates, and even Mr. Rangel, propose." (Editorial, "Corporate Tax War," The Wall Street Journal, 12/4/07)
· FactCheck.org: "Obama's Votes Indicate A Willingness To Raise Taxes." "Certainly Obama's votes indicate a willingness to raise taxes, and Obama has not been shy about saying explicitly that he will raise some taxes." ("The $32,000 Question," FactCheck.org, http://www.factcheck.org, 7/8/08)
ANNCR: The press warns the "taxman cometh".
· The Wall Street Journal: "But With Barack Obama Promising To Raise Rates To French-Like Levels, This Taxman-Cometh Policy Could Turn Americans Into The World's Foremost Fiscal Prisoners." "And speaking of tax rates, celebrity chef Alain Ducasse changed his citizenship this month from high-tax France to no-income-tax Monaco. He says it wasn't a financial decision but an 'affair of the heart.' Of course. Nonetheless, plenty of other Frenchmen have moved abroad to escape their country's confiscatory taxes. Americans should be so lucky: Ours is the only industrialized country that taxes its citizens even if they live overseas. That hasn't been a big problem as long as U.S. tax rates have been relatively low. But with Barack Obama promising to raise rates to French-like levels, this taxman-cometh policy could turn Americans into the world's foremost fiscal prisoners." (Editorial, "Monsieur Obama's Tax Rates," T he Wall Street Journal, 7/1/08)
ANNCR: Obama's taxes mean "higher prices at the pump".
· The Washington Post: Barack Obama's Tax On Oil Companies Will Only Lead To "Higher Prices At The Pump." "But to add a five-year tax increase on top of that to pay for a one-year gift to voters would, indeed, increase the cost of doing business. That cost would be passed along in forgone investment in new production, lower dividends for pension funds and other shareholders, and higher prices at the pump -- thus socking it to the consumers whom the plan is supposed to help. If oil prices fall, there might be no windfall profits to tax. Then the Obama rebate would have to be paid for through spending cuts, taxes on something else or borrowing." (Editorial, "Tapping Tired Wells," The Washington Post, 8/6/08)
ANNCR: Obama's taxes a "recipe for economic disaster".
· The Las Vegas Review-Journal Calls Barack Obama's Tax Proposals "A Recipe For Economic Disaster." "[Obama] wants to the raise tax rate on the top income bracket from 35 percent to 39.6 percent, nearly double the tax rate on capital gains and dividends, and eliminate all tax breaks for the gas and oil industries and private equity firm managers. Talk about a recipe for economic disaster." (Editorial, "More Class Warfare," Las Vegas Review-Journal, 9/20/07)
ANNCR: Higher taxes. Higher gas prices. Economic disaster. That's the real Obama.
JOHN MCCAIN: I'm John McCain and I approved this message.
· Barack Obama Is Proposing A Windfall Profits Tax On Oil Companies That Could Raise Taxes By $15 Billion A Year. "Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's proposal for a windfall profits tax on oil companies could cost $15 billion a year at last year's profit levels, a campaign adviser said." (Daniel Whitten, "Obama May Levy $15 Billion Tax On Oil Company Profit," Bloomberg News, 5/1/08)
· Los Angeles Times Editorial: Funding Rebate Checks By Taxing Oil Companies "Could Ultimately Cause Oil Prices To Rise Even Further." "He also wants to send working families a $1,000 'energy rebate' funded by new taxes on oil companies, a move that would slow the oil giants' investments in research, exploration and recovery and thus could ultimately cause oil prices to rise even further." (Editorial, "Obama's Energy Boost," Los Angeles Times, 8/5/08)
· The Washington Post: Barack Obama's Plan To Tax The Oil Companies Would Lead To "Higher Prices At The Pump." "However, Mr. Obama's proposal to take some of this money from Big Oil and distribute it, like Robin Hood, to hard-pressed American families doesn't make economic sense. ... But to add a five-year tax increase on top of that to pay for a one-year gift to voters would, indeed, increase the cost of doing business. That cost would be passed along in forgone investment in new production, lower dividends for pension funds and other shareholders, and higher prices at the pump -- thus socking it to the consumers whom the plan is supposed to help." (Editorial, "Tapping Tired Wells," The Washington Post, 8/6/08)
· The Non-Partisan Congressional Research Service Found That The Windfall Profits Tax In The Past Reduced Domestic Oil Production And Increased Our Dependence On Foreign Oil By As Much As 13 Percent. "From 1980 to 1988, the WPT may have reduced domestic oil production anywhere from 1.2% to 8.0% (320 to 1,269 million barrels). Dependence on imported oil grew from between 3% and 13%." (Salvatore Lazzari, "The Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax Of The 1980s: Implications For Current Energy Policy," Congressional Research Service, 3/9/06)
· The Tax Reduced Domestic Oil Supply And Increased Demand For Imported Oil. "The WPT had the effect of reducing the domestic supply of crude oil below what the supply would have been without the tax. This increased the demand for imported oil and made the United States more dependent upon foreign oil as compared with dependence without a WPT." (Salvatore Lazzari, "The Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax Of The 1980s: Implications For Current Energy Policy," Congressional Research Service, 3/9/06)
· The Wall Street Journal: The Windfall Profits Tax Reduced Domestic Oil Production And Increased Prices At The Pump. "The last time Congress imposed a form of the windfall tax was the final gloomy days of Jimmy Carter, and the result was: a substantial reduction in domestic oil production (about 5%), thus raising the price of gas at the pump; and a 10% increase in U.S. reliance on foreign oil. A windfall profits tax is the ultimate act of economic masochism because it taxes only domestic production, while imports and foreign oil subsidiaries bear almost none of the cost." (Editorial, "Windfall Accounting Tax," The Wall Street Journal, 11/30/05)
· Heritage's Ben Lieberman: The Windfall Profits Tax Ended Up Harming Consumers With Increased Energy Prices. "The track record for punitive measures like the windfall profits tax shows that they usually harm consumers along with the targeted industry. ... In the end, the tax hurt consumers more through higher energy prices than it helped them through higher tax revenues, which turned out to be far lower than originally predicted because the tax discouraged production." (Ben Lieberman, "Raising Taxes On Oil Companies Is No Way To Reduce Gas Prices," www.heritage.org, 3/1/06)