The Arizona senator called for trimming taxes on older Americans dipping into their retirement accounts, and for suspending tax rules he said "force seniors to sell their stocks in the midst of this financial crisis."
He said he would accelerate a tax write-off for those forced to sell at a loss in the current market conditions, and reduce capital gains taxes for 2009 and 2010 "to raise the incentive to save and invest," according to a statement outlining the proposals.
Older Americans "have seen the financial markets undertake a daily assault on their life savings in recent weeks," the statement said. "Families are being forced to sell at a loss to meet their bills."
McCain said withdrawals from retirement accounts -- IRAs and 401(k)s -- should be taxed at the lowest rate, ten percent, this year and next, for the first 50,000 dollars withdrawn from such accounts each year.
The Republican further proposed reducing the maximum tax rate on long term capital gains to 7.5 percent in 2009 and 2010, so as not to penalize Americans forced to sell stocks in current conditions.
Earlier, McCain's economic adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, discussed the plan:
The Obama campaign responds to McCains new plan:
"John McCain's latest gambit is a day late and 101 million middle-class families short. McCain's plan would spend $300 billion to bailout the same irresponsible Wall Street banks that got us into this mess without doing anything to help jumpstart job growth for America's middle class. His plan continues to provide no tax relief at all to 101 million hardworking families, including 97 percent of senior citizens, and it does nothing to cut taxes for small businesses or give them access to credit. Senator McCain also shows how little he understands the economy by offering lower capital gains rates in a year in which people don't have an awful lot of capital gains. His trickle-down, ideological recipes won't strengthen our economy and grow our middle-class, but Barack Obama's pro-jobs, pro-family economic policies will," said Obama-Biden campaign spokesman Bill Burton.
McCain's big tax plan is to get rid of capital gains tax. This tax is paid by those making miney off of their investments. It is not something most working class Americans care about since they live paycheck to paycheck. For those billionaires who are now millionaires this is great boon for them. Nice try McCain but this will do nothing to increase jobs.
Why are these criminals salaries so high and why are they not in jail. Looks as if they either don't know a thing about what they are doing, or are crooks, or both. Americans work for sun up to sun down, some even more. If we can afford to pay their bills, most will not have a penny left. If we screw up on our jobs we are fired. If we write a check for money we don't have we are prosecuted. If the CEO wants a raise then he also fires us to receive it. When they turn to criminal practices and steal money they don't have, we pay for their thief and they again receive a salare increase. Our (corporate) elected officials which have and are letting these criminal activity exist should be replaced sooner then later.
From what little I've read about the latest McPlan, it heavily favors the top 2% taxpayers and ignores the middle class and poor. Many Americans do not have 401Ks or own any stock. How do they benefit? Another McPlan that will do to the healthcare industry what deregulation did to the banks. It's not $5K off the net tax amount owed. It's an offset from the gross amount of taxable income; it's more like another deduction for Schedule A which reduces the income amount subject to taxation but most people would pay more in tax because the employer's contribution becomes fully taxable and added to the employee's gross salary. For us, that amounts to an additional $500 we'd owe in actual net taxes, and we're middle income. How many more folks would wind up without healthcare? McCain has spent his entire life having government-paid healthcare. His father was a career Navy man (Admiral), and McCain received dependent benefits as a child. As an adult, McCain went into the Navy, then into Congress where they have the sweetest of sweetheart deals for healthcare and retirement. He has no clue how much the middle class and poor suffer, and I don't think he really cares.
So let me get this straight. There were a bunch of people that invested in all sorts of "creative" swaps, derivitives and whatevers. They got paid all sorts of money and then they started dumping these toxic assets and left the taxpayers to hold the bag. Now they have all this money that they made, and the stock market is really low, so McCain is going to entice them into investing again by saying they don't have to pay any capital gains taxes on the next round of profits they are going to make. They make a pile of money and drive down the market and then don't have to pay any taxes on the profits they make when they reinvest in the down market. Sounds like a pretty good deal to his buddies in that top 2% again.
I think it's disgusting the lack of understanding for what is going on and the Republicans are counting on us going along with it in the same way they always get their way... FEAR and more FEAR.
Well ladies and gents. I believe it is safe to say the election is pretty much over. Congratulations to Senator Obama, our future President Obama.