http://washingtontimes.com/commentary/20030803-110555-9659r.htm----------------------------------------------------------------------
It was a weak response that seemed to say to workers that, if Mr. Dean is elected president, the tax payment withholding in their paychecks is going to go up. Workers will have less take-home pay, but he's going to give them a lot of other government benefits to make up the difference. ----------------------------------------------------------------------
But Mr. Dean's chief rival for the nomination, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, says not all of Mr. Bush's tax cuts are bad — especially those aimed at the middle class, married people with children and two-earner working couples.
SNIP
Real Democrats don't walk away from the middle class," Mr. Kerry said in a speech in Dover, N.H., last Wednesday. "They don't take away a tax credit for families struggling to raise their children, or bring back a tax penalty for married couples who are starting out, or penalize teachers and waitresses by raising taxes on the middle class."
And that's exactly what Mr. Dean, who is tied for first place in Iowa and New Hampshire, would end up doing. The reason: Mr. Bush's economic stimulus plan, enacted this spring, has already lowered the tax rates scheduled to decline in 2004 and 2006. Repealing them would mean raising everyone's taxes, including those in the lower tax brackets who are pivotal to the Democrats' dreams of recapturing the White House.
But there are other provisions in Mr. Bush's accelerated tax cut that Mr. Dean would also end up terminating: a doubling of the per-child tax credit to $1,000 for all but the wealthiest families; and eliminating the marriage penalty in which a two-earner couple is forced to pay more in income taxes than if they had filed separately. These provisions alone benefit middle-income taxpayers who will likely determine who will win the presidency next year.
It was a weak response that seemed to say to workers that, if Mr. Dean is elected president, the tax payment withholding in their paychecks is going to go up. Workers will have less take-home pay, but he's going to give them a lot of other government benefits to make up the difference.
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