[RC] Fwd: New Factcheck Article: Sales Tax Spin

[David R. Block]

Speaking of the Fair Tax. David To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.--Thomas Jefferson   -------- Original Message -------- Subject: New Factcheck Article: Sales Tax Spin Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2010 22:19:29 +0100 From: FactCheck.org <subscriberservi...@factcheck.org> Reply-To: FactCheck.org <subscriberservi...@factcheck.org> To: david.r.bl...@verizon.net Sales Tax Spin Dems attack GOP candidates by misrepresenting the FairTax plan. October 20, 2010 Summary Democrats are running misleading ads in several House and Senate races accusing Republicans of supporting a "23 percent national sales tax." The ads fail to mention that the proposed tax — while controversial — is designed to replace all federal income and payroll taxes, and comes with cash rebates to offset the sales tax on essentials such as food, clothing and medical care for everyone. Some of those being attacked have not actually said that they support the tax plan specifically, or have only voiced mild support for it. Some examples: In Colorado, Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet claimed in an ad that Ken Buck "wants to add a new 23 percent national sales tax to everything you buy." Buck says the plan should be considered as an alternative, but that "it was never my alternative." In Mississippi, Alan Nunnelee has been attacked by Rep. Travis Childers and the DCCC for supposedly supporting the plan. But news reports say that Nunnelee has never publicly said that he does, and in one interview, he refused to say whether or not he supports the FairTax. The claim that he does is based on the fact that he listed the FairTax.org page as one his "likes" on his campaign's Facebook page. In Ohio, an ad from Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy claimed that her opponent, Steve Stivers, has a "swift idea" for a "new national sales tax" where we "pay 23 percent on everything we buy." Stivers did indicate on a federal candidate questionnaire that he would support either a "flat income tax or a national sales tax" in place of the current income tax. But his campaign says he actually supports a "flat tax." This line of attack has emerged as a major Democratic theme. We counted at least 33 TV spots since August that make this claim, and it’s being repeated in an unknown number of mailers and in ads running on radio or local cable channels, which we cannot monitor. The claim refers to the FairTax proposal, a controversial idea that was considered and rejected by President George W. Bush’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform. The panel said the tax would have to be set at 34 percent (not 23 percent) to achieve its goals. It also calculated that the levy and its accompanying cash rebates would benefit both low-income and high-income taxpayers but increase the tax burden on those in the middle — raising taxes on those making between $15,000 and $200,000 a year. But the Democratic attacks omit all those subtleties and simply strive to create the impression that the new sales tax would come on top of all existing taxes. And that’s not the case. Note: This is a summary only. The full article with analysis, images and citations may be viewed on our Web site: Desktop Users Mobile Users This message was sent by FactCheck.org, a project of the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center . It was sent from: FactCheck.org, 320 National Press Building, Washington, DC 20045. You can modify/update your subscription via the link below. Click this link to change your email address: Change Your Email Address Unsubscribe -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <RadicalCentrism@googlegroups.com> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org