BlogWonks

Here’s yet another article that explains the simple fact that Obama’s tax numbers just don’t add up. Even though Obama promises a tax cut to 95% of Americans, it’s not gonna happen.

Barack Obama portrays himself as a fiscally responsible tax cutter who will retrieve the government from the edge of economic abyss - but critics and independent watchdogs say otherwise.

“Here is what I can tell the American people: 95 percent of you will get a tax cut,” Obama said during last week’s debate.

It’s a line that appeals greatly to middle-class voters already strained by taxes and the troubled economy.

But an analysis by outside critics and independent analysts who have studied Obama’s economic policies say it’s not that simple.

Obama’s definition of a “tax cut,” for instance, is less than precise.

Many of the “cuts” for lower-income people are actually “refundable tax credits.”

Rather, they are checks from the government handed to people who don’t pay income taxes. This spending, of course, is paid for by other taxpayers.

Also, according to the nonpartisan PolitiFact.com, fewer Americans will enjoy tax cuts under Obama’s plans than the 95 percent he claims.

Only 81 percent of Americans would see some sort of tax cut, according to their analysis.

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One of the most heated battles between Obama and John McCain stems from McCain’s claim that Obama would raise taxes on people earning as little as $42,000.

While Obama has suggested no such tax hike, he in fact did vote in favor of a nonbinding budget resolution establishing a framework that would have raised taxes on people making as little as $42,000.

“Budget resolutions don’t have a whole lot of specifics in them,” explained Ben Harris, an economist with the Brookings Institute who has studied both candidates’ tax plans.

“But they’re general plans for how lawmakers want to tax and spend.”

What Obama is really talking about is a rebate of $500 per single taxpayer and $1,000 for couples. That’s not a tax cut. It’s a temporary rebate, probably a one time rebate. And, it’s a small one. And, I’d be very worried about Obama’s vote to increase taxes on people making only $42,000. Even though the vote didn’t actually do anything, the fact that he voted the way he did is very troubling.

Meanwhile, Brent Bozell wonders how Obama can promise tax cuts to 95% of Americans when 40% of Americans don’t pay any taxes in the first place.

How is it possible to cut 95 percent of Americans’ taxes when the Tax Foundation reports that 40 percent of Americans don’t pay any income tax? (This math apparently is too sophisticated for the guardians of “fact,” who are nowhere to be found.)

An excellent question, and one that McCain should definitely call Obama on.