The Wonk Room

McCain Will Cut Taxes For ‘Literally Everyone’…Except 100 Million Households

On Saturday, John McCain told the New Hampshire Union Leader that he’d lower taxes for everyone:

John McCain yesterday said he will take Barack Obama’s New Hampshire pledge not to raise taxes for anyone making less than $250,000. “Not only that, I’m going to cut taxes for literally everybody,” the Republican nominee said yesterday in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C.

This isn’t true.

John McCain’s tax plan leaves out the millions of American households who do not earn enough money to pay income taxes and millions more middle class households with no dependents. This amounts to around 100 million households who’d see no tax cut under John McCain. (This corroborated by both the Obama campaign, and the right-wing conservative Tax Foundation.)

Furthermore, the millions of Americans who currently get their health care through their jobs could see their taxes increase when John McCain starts taxing their health benefits and gives them a credit that won’t offset their increased taxes. An American couple making $60,000 a year would see their taxes go up over $1,100 by 2013.

So when John McCain tells you he’ll cut taxes for “literally everyone,” he’s just not telling the truth.