As the presidential election nears to conclusion many Americans are using various tax calculators trying to understand the real and hard facts of how many a family or an individual may save in taxes under Barack Obama's or John McCain's health care or tax cut plans.
Barack Obama has made the job of those Americans easier by creating what is called and Obama Tax Calculator. Simply put your financial numbers into the tax calculator and see the results of how many you or your family can safe under Barack Obama's tax plan.
Personal Finance
Aaron and Mary in their blog share their experience after using Obama Tax Calculator below:
"Merri and I put in our numbers for our family to see what “Tax Savings” would look like compared to what we’re paying now and to see what the savings would be in an Obama vs. McCain plan. We’d save $1800.00 (or more) in taxes and a $4000.00 credit for Merri being in college with Obama’s plan. Not to mention the child credits may even get better."
Taxcut.barackobama.com reads that "Barack Obama and Joe Biden will cut taxes for 95% of working families, and provide at least three times as much tax relief for middle class families as John McCain and Sarah Palin. The Obama/Biden plan provides $1,000 of tax relief for workers and new tax benefits to help families pay for college, childcare and save for retirement."
However, now let's see where the candidates stand on their tax cut plans. NorthJersy.com has calculated and put together the following:
Income taxes
McCain: Permanently extend tax brackets lowered in 2001 and due to expire after 2010. Phase in increase in dependent exemptions. Reduce to 10 percent tax on first $50,000 in withdrawals from IRAs in 2008. Suspend rules requiring distributions from IRAs at age 70 1/2. Replace employer-provided health benefits exclusion with refundable credit of $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for couples.
Obama: Extend lower 2001 tax brackets for individuals making less than $200,000 and couples less than $250,000, and above the current 35 percent bracket reintroduce 36 percent and 39.6 percent brackets on upper wage earners that existed before 2001. New refundable credit for workers of up to $500 for individuals and $1,000 for couples. Refundable tuition credit of up to $4,000 a year. Eliminate taxation of unemployment insurance. Make child and dependent care tax credit refundable and equal to 50 percent of child care expenses less than $6,000. Mortgage credit up to $800 for non-itemizers.
Alternative minimum taxMcCain: Make current exemption levels permanent and index to inflation, then begin to increase exemption by 5 percent a year starting in 2013.
Obama: Make current exemption levels permanent.
Capital gainsMcCain: Reduce rate on long-term capital gains to 7.5 percent in 2009 and 2010. Increase amount of capital gains that can be deducted against ordinary income to $15,000 in 2008 and 2009.
Obama: Increase maximum capital gains rate to 20 percent for individuals making more than $200,000 and couples more than $250,000.
Estate taxMcCain: 15 percent on estates worth $5 million or more (0 below that level)
Obama: 45 percent on estates worth $3.5 million or more (0 below that level)
Business taxesMcCain: Reduce maximum corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent over seven years. Unspecified elimination of loopholes to broaden corporate tax base. Eliminate oil and gas loopholes. Bar taxes on Internet service.
Obama: Limit deductibility of top executive pay. Tax carried interest as ordinary income, not capital gains. Eliminate oil and gas loopholes and impose windfall profits tax. Crack down on companies sheltering income in offshore subsidiaries. Require employers to provide health insurance or pay percentage of payroll to support national coverage. Give small businesses health-care tax credit of up to 50 percent of employer-paid premiums.
Obama Tax Calculator shows only his plan, but an independent tax organization Tax Policy Center has listed 32 different changes for Obama and 19 for McCain, which therefore; will make a simple calculation of winners and losers impossible.
Obama’s tax calculator is “a very simple gadget that’s the most useful thing I’ve seen on any political website in a while.” [Forbes.com, 10/08]
See Obama tax calculator here.
Obama Tax cut
For everyone that really think Obama is the great savior of the US, think again. Incremental conditioning is the key to dumbing down society and taking our money. I can’t decide if people are just dumb, unfair or both. The Obama CULT talks about him as being a united and not a divider. What he is doing with his attack of the rich is classic Class Warfare. How can anyone who pays 15% taxes think that it is a good policy to make people who pay 30+% taxes to pay 39+% taxes, so they can pay 10%. I am a small business owner that would benefit from an Obama tax cut, that is if I ever got it that is. But that is not even the issue, the fact is that based on just principle it is wrong for someone to pay triple in taxes so I can pay less. There is another option for lower taxes, its called spending less. But Dems don’t believe Lower the middle class tax and keep the rich at their already high percent. What is going to kill this economy is punishing the people who fuel this economy. The middle class is the vehicle and the rich are fuel. Take out the fuel and the ride is really going to come to a stop. I own a design supply company. The rich hire a design, the designer buys my product, I in turn by a Home, a Ford Explorer, two Harley and groceries and trips. The Ford and Harley workers and all other industries workers benefit from my purchases. Lastly not to go on and on, something I learned very quickly owning my own business, businesses don’t pay taxes they just increase the cost of the goods that the working class buy. So when you Obama lovers are drooling over your government redistributed, rich to middle class, tax cut. Remember what bread, cars, gas, and all those items you love cost in 2008, then add up the difference and see if those nickel, dimes and dollars add up to more than that sham tax cut.