BLUE-TIE STEPHEN: So, if the rich people end up paying the same amount in taxes..... how does that create jobs?
We need to remember - and continue to remind Republicans - that Mitt Romney's plan for income taxes started with a simple pledge to 'cut marginal rates by 20% across the board'.
In fact, his web site STILL only contains that pledge - there is NO MENTION of compensating for the loss of revenue by eliminating deductions.
Mitt Romney's Tax Plan
So Romney's plan is simple (albeit proven not to work): cut taxes on the 'job creators', and they will respond by hiring more people.
But (now belaboring the point I'm sure everyone has picked up on) if the 'job creators' still pay the same amount of money, how will they be able to create more jobs?
Now, as a second follow-up, let's look at a real-life example:
Alex Rodriguez (favorite whipping-boy of the moment) makes $29,000,000 this year.
He will pay about $10,500,000 in taxes (36%, not accounting for deductions), or a take-home pay of about $18,500,000 (about $1,000,000 per home run, FWIW)
Mitt Romney says that A-Rod will still pay 10,500,000 in taxes (if he has at least $2,400,000 in deductions... otherwise his tax bill will go UP!)
Will A-Rod be fired up to go hire more employees? (like an extra swing coach, perhaps?)
Under Mitt's written tax plan, A-Rod will pay $8,100,000 in taxes.
Having saved $2,400,000 in federal income tax, will A-Rod go out and hire more employees? (like an extra swing coach, perhaps?)
Or will he just stash that extra wind-fall in the Caymans like Mitt does?
Cheers.