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President
Bush is scheduled to tout his tax cuts today at
a Tax Day event in Iowa. He is expected to repeat
his oft-heard mantra that tax cuts have helped
all Americans. But according to a new poll by
Money Magazine, "60% of Americans said the Bush
tax cut did not personally help them" (1). Meanwhile,
almost half of all Americans say that their taxes
have risen under Bush (2). And a look at the record
shows exactly why that majority opinion is factually
correct.
According
to a non-partisan analysis, in the year 2006 88%
of Americans will receive less than $100 from
the president's 2003 tax cut (3). Additionally,
the president has refused to extend the full child
tax credit to 16 million children (4), including
250,000 children of military families (5). At
the same time, the president's 2004 budget proposed
an increase of almost $6 billion in new federal
taxes and fees (6) while creating record-deficits
that have forced states to raise taxes by $14.5
billion since 2001 (7). And to top it off, he
has reduced IRS audits of large profitable corporations
whose tax rates have plummeted (8), while increasing
IRS audits of ordinary Americans (9).
Of
course, there is a handful of people who are reaping
a personal windfall from Bush's tax policy: President
Bush, Vice President Cheney, and their top campaign
donors. The president himself pocketed more than
$30,000 in new tax breaks this year while the
Vice President took in an extra $11,000 (10).
And a new Public Campaign report shows that top
Bush-Cheney contributors are raking in even more
(11). For instance, Charles Cawley, CEO of credit
card giant MBNA, raised more than $200,000 for
the Bush-Cheney campaign and was rewarded with
at least $276,000 in tax breaks. Similarly, William
MaGuire, CEO of UnitedHealth Group, raised more
than $100,000 for the Bush-Cheney campaign and
will get at least $329,000 in new tax breaks from
President Bush.
Sources:
1. "Money poll: Tax cuts unpopular", CNN Money,
04/15/2004, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1208987&l=29023.
2. "ASSOCIATED PRESS POLL: Most prefer balanced
budget to tax cuts", Grand Forks Herald, 04/15/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1208987&l=29024.
3. "Most Taxpayers Get Little Help From Latest
Bush Tax Plan", Citizens for Tax Justice, 05/30/2003,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1208987&l=29025.
4. "Bush Tax Plan's Child Credit Boost Leaves
Behind One in Four of America' s Children", Citizens
for Tax Justice, 05/29/2003, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1208987&l=29026.
5. "Study: Military kids slighted on tax credit",
USA Today, 06/04/2003, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1208987&l=29027.
6. "Bush's 2004 Budget Proposes More Fees", Washington
Post, 04/19/2003, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1208987&l=29028.
7. State Budget & Tax Actions 2003, National Conference
of State Legislatures, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1208987&l=29029.
8. "Corporate tax burden shows sharp decline",
Associated Press, 04/13/2004, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1208987&l=29030.
9. "IRS More Likely to Audit Individuals", Los
Angeles Times, 04/12/2004, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1208987&l=29031
ome-headlines.
10. "Bushes, Cheneys Reaped Tax Benefits", Associated
Press, 04/14/2004, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1208987&l=29032.
11. Campaign Money Watch, 04/15/2004, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1208987&l=29033.
Topplebush.com
Posted: April 21, 2004
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