Kerry is Bad for the Economy
Kerry has a record of voting to send more tax dollars to Washington instead of keeping them in the productive hands of individuals and businesses ? He has voted for higher taxes hundreds of times. He voted 98 times for tax increases totaling more than $2.3 trillion. In addition, he has voted 126 times against tax cuts, voted 73 times to reduce the size of tax cuts, voted 67 times for smaller tax cuts and voted 11 times against repealing tax hikes.
Now Kerry wants to raise taxes on successful small business owners and entrepreneurs ? 90% of businesses pay taxes through the individual income tax, not the corporate income tax. Kerry?s call to repeal tax cuts for the ?wealthy? would increase taxes on nearly 1 million successful small businesses and entrepreneurs who are in the top two individual income tax brackets.
Kerry would have small businesses paying a higher tax rate than corporations ? While Kerry would reduce the top tax rate for corporations from 35% to 33.25%, he would increase the top tax rate for small businesses from 35% to 39.6%. Small businesses create 7 out of 10 new jobs. No small business should have to pay more taxes than a corporation. It?s unfair and bad economics.
Kerry?s corporate tax plan would make the U.S. less internationally competitive ? Kerry would partially end the deferral of foreign income, making the tax code even more complicated and making U.S. companies less competitive internationally. The Institute for International Economics reports ?it would actually tilt the tax field more steeply in favor of foreign MNCs [multinational companies].? (?Senator Kerry on Corporate Tax Reform: Right Diagnosis, Wrong Prescription,? Institute for International Economics, Gary Haufbauer, 4/04)
Kerry?s own advisers admit his plan won?t stop outsourcing ? ?Campaign officials acknowledged that the new plan would not stop the broader trend of outsourcing jobs to low-wage countries.? (Source: ?Kerry to Propose Eliminating a Tax Break on U.S. Companies' Overseas Profits,? The New York Times, 3/26/04)
Kerry?s New Jobs Tax Credit won?t work ? Kerry proposes bringing back a tax credit from the Carter era that didn?t work then and won?t work now. It?s complicated and will require more paperwork. It puts good companies that didn?t lay-off their employees during the recession at a competitive disadvantage with companies that did lay-off employees and now hire them back. Even the study Kerry cited in support of the idea concluded it didn?t work: ?Most firms either did not know of the program or were not influenced by it, a result which makes this short-run program an imperfect counter-cyclical tool.? (?The New Jobs Tax Credit: An Evaluation of the 1977-78 Wage Subsidy Program,? Jeffrey M. Perloff and Michael L. Wachter, The American Economic Review, May 1979)
Kerry?s economic isolationism would jeopardize millions of U.S. jobs ? Kerry?s call for reviewing trade agreements he?s already voted in favor of and for imposing unilateral tariffs could spark a trade war that jeopardizes U.S. jobs. Trade supports about 12 million jobs in the U.S. and investment from foreign companies supports another 6 million jobs.
Kerry won?t reduce the costs of doing business in the U.S. ? He has opposed reforms to curb frivolous and costly lawsuits. His health care plan would just shift costs rather than provide incentives to reduce them. His ideas for energy policy would hurt manufacturers. For example, Senator Kerry voted for a Kyoto-like bill that the National Association of Manufacturers characterized as ?potentially devastating to economic growth and job creation.? (Source: ?NAM Calls for Defeat of S. 139,? press release, 10/29/03)
Kerry has a record of voting to send more tax dollars to Washington instead of keeping them in the productive hands of individuals and businesses ? He has voted for higher taxes hundreds of times. He voted 98 times for tax increases totaling more than $2.3 trillion. In addition, he has voted 126 times against tax cuts, voted 73 times to reduce the size of tax cuts, voted 67 times for smaller tax cuts and voted 11 times against repealing tax hikes.
Now Kerry wants to raise taxes on successful small business owners and entrepreneurs ? 90% of businesses pay taxes through the individual income tax, not the corporate income tax. Kerry?s call to repeal tax cuts for the ?wealthy? would increase taxes on nearly 1 million successful small businesses and entrepreneurs who are in the top two individual income tax brackets.
Kerry would have small businesses paying a higher tax rate than corporations ? While Kerry would reduce the top tax rate for corporations from 35% to 33.25%, he would increase the top tax rate for small businesses from 35% to 39.6%. Small businesses create 7 out of 10 new jobs. No small business should have to pay more taxes than a corporation. It?s unfair and bad economics.
Kerry?s corporate tax plan would make the U.S. less internationally competitive ? Kerry would partially end the deferral of foreign income, making the tax code even more complicated and making U.S. companies less competitive internationally. The Institute for International Economics reports ?it would actually tilt the tax field more steeply in favor of foreign MNCs [multinational companies].? (?Senator Kerry on Corporate Tax Reform: Right Diagnosis, Wrong Prescription,? Institute for International Economics, Gary Haufbauer, 4/04)
Kerry?s own advisers admit his plan won?t stop outsourcing ? ?Campaign officials acknowledged that the new plan would not stop the broader trend of outsourcing jobs to low-wage countries.? (Source: ?Kerry to Propose Eliminating a Tax Break on U.S. Companies' Overseas Profits,? The New York Times, 3/26/04)
Kerry?s New Jobs Tax Credit won?t work ? Kerry proposes bringing back a tax credit from the Carter era that didn?t work then and won?t work now. It?s complicated and will require more paperwork. It puts good companies that didn?t lay-off their employees during the recession at a competitive disadvantage with companies that did lay-off employees and now hire them back. Even the study Kerry cited in support of the idea concluded it didn?t work: ?Most firms either did not know of the program or were not influenced by it, a result which makes this short-run program an imperfect counter-cyclical tool.? (?The New Jobs Tax Credit: An Evaluation of the 1977-78 Wage Subsidy Program,? Jeffrey M. Perloff and Michael L. Wachter, The American Economic Review, May 1979)
Kerry?s economic isolationism would jeopardize millions of U.S. jobs ? Kerry?s call for reviewing trade agreements he?s already voted in favor of and for imposing unilateral tariffs could spark a trade war that jeopardizes U.S. jobs. Trade supports about 12 million jobs in the U.S. and investment from foreign companies supports another 6 million jobs.
Kerry won?t reduce the costs of doing business in the U.S. ? He has opposed reforms to curb frivolous and costly lawsuits. His health care plan would just shift costs rather than provide incentives to reduce them. His ideas for energy policy would hurt manufacturers. For example, Senator Kerry voted for a Kyoto-like bill that the National Association of Manufacturers characterized as ?potentially devastating to economic growth and job creation.? (Source: ?NAM Calls for Defeat of S. 139,? press release, 10/29/03)
