More headlines: John McCain on Tax Reform
(Following are older quotations. Click here for main quotations.)
Tax cuts should go to middle- & lower-income people
Q: [to McCain]: You’ve said that 60% of Bush’s tax cut will go to the very wealthy. Are you are playing a class warfare game, pitting rich against poor? McCAIN: I have never engaged in class warfare. [But] there’s a growing gap between the
have’s and have-not’s in America and that gap is growing and it’s, unfortunately, divided up along ethnic lines. We ought to cut middle-income and lower-income taxes. But I’m not sure we need to give two-thirds of that tax cut [money] to the wealthiest
10% of America.
BUSH: I believe everybody ought to get a tax cut. I believe it’s important to cut the top rates. I think it’s important to drop the 39.6% [top tax rate] to 33%. I also know
it’s important to make sure people who are on the outskirts of poverty get a tax cut as well. And my plan does both.
Source: (cross-ref from Bush) GOP Debate in Michigan
Jan 10, 2000
Leaving money in Washington means President vetoes spending
McCAIN [to Bush]: For us to put all of the surplus into tax cuts. it’s a mistake. We should put that money into [making] sure their Social Security system will be there, that Medicare is helped and, most of all, let’s pay that $5.6 trillion debt we’ve
laid on future generations. BUSH: I have a plan that takes $2 trillion over the next 10 years & dedicates it to Social Security. My plan has been called risky by voices out of Washington. In my judgment what’s risky is to leave a lot of unspent money
in Washington, because guess what’s going to happen. It’s going to be spent on bigger federal governments.
McCAIN: Your tax plan over the next five years not only spends all of the surplus, it spends $20 billion in addition to that. But this idea that
somehow if the money is left. -- you don’t understand the role of the president. The president of the US will veto bills that spend too much. I’ll veto bills that force Congress to spend less. That’s what’s being president is all about.
Source: (cross-ref to Bush) GOP Debate in Michigan
Jan 10, 2000
Large contributions distort tax system against taxpayers
When we just passed the last tax bill in Congress, it had tax breaks for the special interests, like a corporation in Delaware that turns chicken litter into energy. Those tax cuts would have taken place immediately, while the marriage penalty repeal,
where young Americans are being penalized for getting married [would not]. The special interests rule in Washington - the big money, the huge 6- and 7-figure contributions that [result in] special loopholes and special deals for the special interests.
Source: Republican Debate at Dartmouth College
Oct 29, 1999
Cut taxes by eliminating loopholes & corporate welfare
I will cut taxes, not for the special interests and the big-dollar donors, but for the working men and women of this country. I’ll pay for middle class tax relief by using the surplus funds not needed to save Social Security, and with the money saved by
eliminating tax loopholes and corporate welfare that serve powerful special interests at your expense.
Source: Candidacy Declaration Speech, Nashua NH
Sep 27, 1999
Tax code should favor savings, marriage, & small business
The tax code should not punish Americans for wanting to marry, save, or invest; and it should not force the sale of family farms or small businesses due to obscene inheritance taxes. McCain understands that America’s small businesses are the remarkable
engines that drive our economy. And he will continue to lead the fight against the high taxes and government red tape that choke America’s small businesses, stifle innovation, and depress wages.
Source: www.mccain2000.com/ “Position Papers” 5/24/99
May 24, 1999
Expand the 15% tax bracket; close business loopholes
McCain knows that lower- and middle-class taxpayers are hardest hit by the current system. He is committed to trimming more of the fat from our bloated federal government and closing unnecessary and unfair tax loopholes for big businesses in order to
provide this much-needed relief.McCain’s tax relief proposal will:- expand the lowest 15% tax bracket
- eliminate the unfair marriage penalty, death taxes, and the Social Security Earnings Test
- and encourage savings and investment.
Source: www.mccain2000.com/ “Position Papers” 5/24/99
May 24, 1999
Use tax code to address unemployment & working conditions
McCain supports the following principles concerning employment: - Provide tax credits for companies that move into areas with high unemployment
- Reduce government regulations to encourage investment
- Establish empowerment zones in areas with
high unemployment
- Encourage employers to offer flex-time scheduling, comp-time and unpaid leave to attend to their family responsibilities
- Provide tax credits for businesses that provide on-site child care.
Source: (x-ref to Welfare Reform) Project Vote Smart, 1998
Jul 2, 1998
More tax-deductible health costs; limits on malpractice
McCain supports the following principles regarding tax support of health care:- Allow small business owners & the self-employed to have the same deductibility for health costs
- Expand eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts
- Establish
limits on the amount of damages awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
Source: 1998 National Political Awareness Test
Jul 2, 1998
Decrease taxes across-the-board; maintain deductions
McCain would “greatly decrease” the following taxes:- Income taxes in all income categories
- Capital gains taxes
- Estate taxes.
McCain would “slightly decrease”- Corporate income taxes.
McCain would “maintain status” on:
on:- Charitable deductions
- Child tax credit
- Earned Income Tax Credit
- Medical expense deductions
- Mortgage deductions.
McCain would “slightly increase”- Cigarette taxes.
Source: 1998 National Political Awareness Test
Jul 2, 1998
For flat tax; against nat’l sales tax & marriage penalty
McCain supports the following statements regarding taxes:- Replace the US income tax structure with a flat income tax
- Eliminate the Internal Revenue Service
- Do not institute a national sales tax
- Married couples filing jointly should pay
the same taxes as if they were an unmarried couple filing separately
- Require a super-majority vote in both houses of Congress to raise taxes.
Source: 1998 National Political Awareness Test
Jul 2, 1998
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