Mitt Romney tax plan would cut taxes on rich, raise taxes on poor, analysis suggests
Taxes would fall for the country’s wealthiest and rise for a some of the poorest Americans under the tax plan proposed by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, according to an analysis released today by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.
The reduced government revenue could widen the country’s budget deficit by at least $180 billion, according to the analysis of Romney’s 59-point, 160-page economic plan.
Romney’s plan, however, would be far less drastic than those proposed by some of his rivals in the GOP presidential race. Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker from Georgia, would increase annual deficits by $850 billion and the plan proposed by Texas Governor Rick Perry would increase by $570 billion a year, according to analyses previously released by the center.
Under a Romney presidency, most of the current tax system would remain intact, although he would permanently do away with the estate tax and lower the corporate rate from 35 percent to 25 percent.
He would also make permanent the Bush tax cuts that are scheduled to expire at the end of the year.
While millions of households would see tax cuts, thousands of poor Americans would see their tax bills rise, by an average of $1,000, because of changes to child and earned income credits.
Those making more than $1 million a year would get a tax cut of about $150,000 — amounting to about half of the total tax cuts he proposes, according to Howard Gleckman, a fellow at the Urban Institute and editor of the Tax Policy Center’s budget policy blog, “TaxVox.’’
“Romney says he’d rewrite the entire tax code – someday. But he doesn’t say how or when,’’ Gleckman wrote today. “Until he does, a Romney administration’s revenue agenda would look a lot like President George W. Bush’s, just more so.’’
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