Candidate changes plan to only raise taxes on the “rich”, additional hikes very likely
WASHINGTON – John Kerry has long campaigned on a promise to raise taxes on Americans earning more than $200,000 per year while preserving President Bush’s cuts for average Americans. Kerry quietly broke that promise this week with an under –the –radar plan that would raise taxes on the middle class.
Kerry wants to raise the top two income tax brackets to their former levels. The top bracket is for incomes of over $200,000 per year, but the second highest bracket has a threshold of $147,000. By hiking up the additiona l rate, Kerry would dramatically raise taxes on many married middle class couples, entrepreneurs,
and small businesses owners.
“A family with children, faced with today’s housing prices, exploding insurance premiums and the ever growing cost of college education simply cannot afford a tax hike,” said ATR President Grover Norquist. “John Kerry wants to destroy the tax relief President Bush fought to give scores of hardworking Americans.”
Kerry has been careful to avoid bringing attention to his platform change. In earlier speeches, he plainly said
he was seeking to raise taxe s on those making over $200,000, but Kerry has declined to explain his new plan, saying instead that he will raise taxes on “the rich.” Large families earning $147,000 part of the middle class, not the rich elite, and have many expenses to cover with their hard-earned money.
“John Kerry said all along that he only wanted to raise taxes on the richest Americans, but he has already broken his word,” continued Norquist. “Kerry lied about sticking the middle class with tax hikes, and is a liability to do so again."