A multipart policy plan released by Sen. Rick Scott on Feb. 22 says “all Americans” should have to pay “income tax,” while saying that “over half of Americans” currently do not. But in an interview later that day, after criticism from congressional Democrats, the Florida senator falsely claimed that he had not suggested increasing federal income taxes for that many people.
A viral post claims, falsely, that Sen. Bernie Sanders at a recent debate called for a tax rate of 52% on incomes of $29,000 or more to pay for his Medicare for All plan. He didn’t. That figure was floated as a potential marginal tax rate for income above $10 million.
The GOP tax plan is fodder for campaign ads from both sides in Pennsylvania’s special House election and races across the country.
In promoting his plan to overhaul of the nation’s tax system, President Donald Trump claimed “the rich will not be gaining at all with this plan.” But the tax proposal his administration outlined in April would heavily benefit high-income taxpayers, and Trump hasn’t revealed any changes to it.
Donald Trump misleadingly touts tax cuts of 30 percent for “working people” or 35 percent for “a middle-class family with two children,” adding that Hillary Clinton “wants to raise your taxes up to the sky.” That distorts both Trump’s and Clinton’s plans.
Sen. Bernie Sanders says firefighters, police officers, nurses and truck drivers all pay higher effective tax rates than hedge fund managers. That’s accurate for some in those occupations, but it’s not the case across the board.
In Wisconsin’s pivotal race for governor, both sides are still spinning voters.
In Iowa, a Republican ad claims that Democratic Senate nominee Bruce Braley “voted to raise taxes on every single Iowa taxpayer.” That badly distorts Braley’s clearly stated position.
A new ad from Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell grossly oversells the percentage of Kentuckians that McConnell “saved” from income tax hikes last year.
Mitt Romney was wrong when he said the 47 percent of Americans who pay no federal income taxes are “dependent on the government.” Most of them are working people who simply do not earn very much money.
Romney also assumed that all of those in the 47 percent who pay no federal income tax vote Democratic. But polling data suggest that’s just not true. President Obama is faring better than Romney among the lowest earners —