Myth: John McCain Will Lower Your Taxes

There are actually two myths concerning the candidates and their tax proposals: 1) John McCain will lower your taxes, and 2) Barack Obama will raise them.

Maybe you've seen John McCain's latest ad:

"Celebrities don't have to worry about family budgets, but we sure do," the announcer says. "We're paying more for food and gas, making it harder to save for college, retirement. Obama's solution? Higher taxes, called 'a recipe for economic disaster.' "

"He's ready to raise your taxes, but not ready to lead," the announcer concludes.

It's true, Obama will raise your taxes, but only if your family income is greater than $603,403, i.e. you're among the top 1% of American households. If your family income is less than $111,645, both candidates propose to lower your taxes, but Obama by a whole lot more.

In other words, McCain will lower taxes, but not by much if you're not rich. Obama will only raise taxes on the rich, which is fair, considering how wealthy Americans have benefited disproportionately from the tax policies of Bush-Cheney.

Here are the numbers:


Click here for The Washington Post story, "Obama and McCain Tax Proposals"