Barack Obama’s campaign Web site has posted a calculator that tells you how much you would be paying in taxes under his plan. The point, of course, is to demonstrate that Senator Obama’s plan “will cut taxes for 95 percent of working families.” If you select an income level of “$250,000 and up,” though, it does not tell you what your tax increase would be; it says only, “You will probably not get a tax cut under the Obama-Biden plan.” Americans for Tax Reform, a conservative group, has also criticized the calculator’s methodology.
John McCain’s Web site does not appear to have a similar device. But there are a few other calculators on the Web that can give you more details, as well as a side-by-side comparison of how Senator Obama’s and Senator McCain’s proposals would affect you if passed.
This user-friendly site calculates the total taxes you would probably pay under both plans, although it does not show you how the figures compare with what you would pay under current law.
This site, run by an apparent Obama supporter, does give you a side-by-side comparison of the change in your tax liability. If you choose an income level at which you will likely see a tax increase under Senator Obama’s plan, it initially soft-pedals the result (”You probably will not get an Obama tax cut. This calculation is not perfect, and Obama has recently promised not to raise taxes for anyone making less than $250,000 per year.”) But at least it gives you the numbers. The calculations appear to be derived from an analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank run jointly by Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute.
[Originally at: New York Times]
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