Candidate's proposal would raise taxes $737 per taxpayer, provide limited benefit

WASHINGTON , D.C. - Today, Teresa Heinz Kerry will visit Ohio to talk about healthcare. She will not, however, tell voters about the $50 billion in taxes that that would be raised on Ohio 's families over the next ten years to finance such an expensive liberal plan.

John Kerry has proposed a healthcare plan that would cost an estimated $1.5 trillion over the next ten years. Unfortunately, American taxpayers would be the ones forced to foot the bill for such increased spending. Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) estimates that Kerry will need to impose a tax hike of $737 per taxpayer in Ohio to pay for his plan; this amounts to more than $7,000 over the next decade.

"John Kerry wants to implement a bloated, government-run healthcare program and stick American taxpayers with the bill," said ATR President Grover Norquist . "Kerry asserts he would only raise taxes on the rich, but the fact is the middle class will have to pay for this big government boondoggle."

Despite the Kerry healthcare plan's massive price tag, most of the benefit would be wasted as nearly 60 percent of the plan's cost would go towards individuals that are already insured. Nationally, the average person would receive a benefit of $451 dollars, which is more than offset by the increased tax burden.

Ironically, while Kerry seeks to increase taxes on the "wealthy" to pay for his hefty spending proposals, John and Theresa Heinz Kerry, who comprise one the richest families in the world, pay less than the average middle class family in income taxes. Last year, John Kerry and his wife paid just 12% of their combined income in income taxes.

"Kerry claims the rich should pay more taxes, yet he and his billionaire wife can't cough up more than 12% of their own income," continued Norquist. "The fact is that billionaires like John Kerry can afford to find tax loopholes while honest, hardworking individuals must simply find a way to afford their taxes."