New Deal Numerology: A Tax Plan for the Rich, by the Rich

Aug 9, 2012Tim Price

This week's numbers: $360 billion; $86 billion; 20%; $175,000; $130

$360 billion... is an unpaid number. That’s how much Romney’s tax plan would reduce revenue in 2015, according to a Tax Policy Center analysis. Maybe rather than running for president he's just trying to engineer a leveraged buyout of the country.

$86 billion... is a shifted number. That’s how much more of the tax burden would have to fall on the middle class and poor for the plan to be deficit-neutral. Since there's only so much room on their shoulders, Romney has dropped his plan to have them carry the rich around in litters.

20%... is a flat number. That’s how much Romney’s plan would cut from all individual tax rates, with the highest dropping from 35 and 28 (time to buy that yacht!) and the lowest dropping from 10 to 8 (time to buy that sandwich!).

$175,000... is a saved number. That’s how much less the average millionaire would pay each year under Romney’s plan, though some have tried to compare it to how much they usually pay and gotten a divide-by-zero error.

$130... is an expired number. That’s how much more the average person earning less than $30,000 would have to pay due to the end of Obama's tax cuts. The GOP always said he would raise taxes; little did they know he'd trick them into doing it themselves.

Tim Price is Deputy Editor of Next New Deal. Follow him on Twitter at @txprice.

Share This