Here are the alleged tax proposals
under a Barack Obama and McCain presidency. These figures were taken from the Americans for Tax Reform website and are not guaranteed to be accurate.
I do not vote on a candidate based solely on the amount they wish to change taxes, and there are many factors to look at besides money. A good business will thrive in any environment and entrepreneurs will always get new products and services to the marketplace.
It is important to have facts on a candidate before voting, and politicians tend to generalize their positions during elections.
A breakdown of tax changes by presidential candidate
| Present Law | McCain | Obama | ||||
| Top Personal Rate | 35% | 35% | 39.6% | |||
| Capital Gains Rate | 15% | 15% | 20% | |||
| Dividends Rate | 15% | 15% | 20% | |||
| Death Tax 1 | 0% by 2010 | 15%/$10 million 3 | 45%/$7 million 4 | |||
| AMT Rate 5 | 28% | 0% (Repealed) | 28% | |||
| Small Business Employer Rate 6 |
37.9% | 37.9% | Up To 54.8% | |||
| Tax Hike Marriage Penalty |
N/A | N/A | $250,000 MFJ $200,000 Single 7 |
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| Corporate Income Tax 8 | 35% | 25% | 35% | |||
| Business Infrastructure 9 | Long and Complex Depreciation |
Full Expensing | Long and Complex Depreciation |
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| Windfall Profits Tax On Energy Companies 10 |
None | None | Yes Rate Unknown |
Explanations and sources of tax rates for the 2 presidential candidated
- Inheritance tax
- CNBC Closing Bell. March 27, 2008
- The first $5 million ($10 million for a surviving spouse) of an estate would be death tax-exempt (Source: johnmccain.com)
- The first $3.5 million ($7 million for a surviving spouse) of an estate would be death tax-exempt (Source: barackobama.com)
- The “alternative minimum tax” (AMT) requires taxpayers to calculate their taxes two ways, and pay whichever method results in a higher tax owed
- Self-employed taxpayers pay both ordinary income tax and self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare). According to the NFIB, most small business employers make at least $250,000 per year (Source: nfib.org)
- Barack Obama has said he would raise taxes on married couples making $250,000 and individuals making $200,000 per year (Source: barackobama.com)
- The U.S. corporate income tax is currently the second-highest in the developed world. The average European corporate income tax rate is about 25%
- It takes larger businesses several years to deduct machinery and equipment, even though they purchase the business asset in year one (e.g. a computer must be slowly-deducted over six calendar years)
- Above and beyond the current 35% corporate income tax rate on energy companies
Source: Americans for Tax Reform www.atr.org
4 Responses
I hate politics, and hate paying taxes even more.
Taxes must not be enacted for affiliate marketers – online businesses do not have a physical presence in states.
Thank you. Very interesting article.
i think obama should be the next 2008 because mccain we dont a another bush things need to get better and quciky