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Romney Campaign Press Release - President Obama's $5 Trillion Falsehood

October 05, 2012

President Obama Has Repeatedly Made The False Claim That Mitt Romney Is Proposing A $5 Trillion Tax Cut:

President Obama: "Governor Romney's Central Economic Plan Calls For A $5 Trillion Tax Cut..." OBAMA: "And this is where there's a difference because Governor Romney's central economic plan calls for a $5 trillion tax cut, on top of the extension of the Bush tax cuts, so that's another $2 trillion, and $2 trillion in additional military spending that the military hasn't asked for. That's $8 trillion." (President Barack Obama, First Presidential Debate, Denver, CO, 10/3/12)

But Independent Fact Checkers — And Even President Obama's Own Campaign — Have Noted That The $5 Trillion Attack Is Not True:

Obama Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter: "Okay, Stipulated, It Won't Be Near $5 Trillion..." BURNETT: "Right. So you're saying if you lower them by 20% you get a $5 trillion tab, right?" CUTTER: "It's a $5 trillion tab."  BURNETT: "But then when you close deductions it's not going to be anywhere near $5 trillion. That's our analysis." CUTTER: "Well, okay, stipulated, it won't be near $5 trillion, but it's also not going to be the sum of $5 trillion in the loopholes that he's going to close." (CNN, 10/4/12)

FactCheck.org: "Obama Accused Romney Of Proposing A $5 Trillion Tax Cut. Not True." "Obama accused Romney of proposing a $5 trillion tax cut. Not true. Romney proposes to offset his rate cuts and promises he won't add to the deficit." (Brooks Jackson, "Dubious Denver Debate Declarations." FactCheck.org, 10/4/12)

  • FactCheck.org: "Romney Is Not Proposing A $5 Trillion Reduction In Taxes." "However, Romney always has said he planned to offset that massive cut with equally massive reductions in tax preferences to broaden the tax base, thus losing no revenue and not increasing the deficit. So to that extent, the president is incorrect: Romney is not proposing a $5 trillion reduction in taxes." (Brooks Jackson, "Dubious Denver Debate Declarations," FactCheck.org, 10/4/12)

ABC's Jon Karl, On President Obama's $5 Trillion Claim: "Mostly Fiction." KARL: "Okay, so, the big thing there, and he came back to it several times, is Governor Romney has a $5 trillion tax cut plan. I rate that mostly fiction." (ABC's "Your Voice: 2012Presidential Debates," 10/3/12)

The Associated Press Said "Obama's Claim That Romney Wants To Cut Taxes By $5 Trillion Doesn't Add Up." "Obama's claim that Romney wants to cut taxes by $5 trillion doesn't add up. Presumably, Obama was talking about the effect of Romney's tax plan over 10 years, which is common in Washington. But Obama's math doesn't take into account Romney's entire plan." (Calvin Woodward, "FACT CHECK: Presidential Debate Missteps," The Associated Press, 10/3/12)

And What About President Obama's Tax Plan? Job-Destroying Taxes On Small Businesses And Looming Tax Hikes On The Middle Class:

Vice President Biden, On Whether The Obama-Biden Team Supports Trillions In Higher Taxes: "Yes We Do..." BIDEN: "On top of the trillions of dollars of spending that we have already cut, we're gonna ask — yes — we're gonna ask the wealthy to pay more. My heart breaks, come on man. You know the phrase they always use? Obama and Biden want to raise taxes by a trillion dollars. Guess what? Yes we do in one regard. We want to let that trillion-dollar tax cut expire so the middle class doesn't have to bear the burden of all that money going to the super wealthy. That's not a tax raise, that's called fairness where I come from." (Vice President Joe Biden, Remarks, Council Bluffs, IA, 10/4/12)

President Obama's Second-Term Tax Plan Will Hike Taxes On Small-Businesses And Jeopardize 710,000 Jobs. "Researchers determined the plan would actually subject 2.1 million business owners to higher rates; specifically, those who pay pass-through taxes, like most partnerships, LLCs and S-Corporations. The result, less capital in the hands of business owners and diminished labor supply, would cost the United States an estimated $200 billion in economic output and 710,000 jobs." (J.D. Harrison, "Obama Plan To Lift Top Tax Rates Would Plague Millions Of Small Businesses, Study Warns," The Washington Post, 7/17/12)

The American Enterprise Institute Has Calculated That The Annual Cost Of President Obama's Current And Looming Debt Burden Amounts To $4,000 Per Year In Higher Taxes On The Middle Class. "In a new paper, AEI's Matt Jensen looks at the real annual cost of servicing the debt for households at various levels of income — including a potentially higher tax burden. As the table below illustrates, a household making between $100,000 and $200,000 a year could find its tax liability higher by roughly $2,400 every year. Over ten years, that works out to $24,000. And when you add in the debt already accrued the past four years under President Obama (the second table), that's another $1,600 a year. So now we are now talking about $4,000 a year, $40,000 over ten years." (James Pethokoukis, "Study: Obama's Big Budget Deficits Could Mean A $4,000 A Year Middle-Class Tax Hike," American Enterprise Institute, 10/2/12)

In Addition, Obamacare Will Subject Nearly 5 Million Middle-Class Americans To A Tax Increase. "Congressional budget analysts are now estimating that nearly 6 million Americans — most of them in the middle class — will have to pay a tax penalty for not getting health insurance once President Barack Obama's health care law is fully in place. ... And the budget office analysis found that nearly 80 percent of those who'll face the penalty would be making up to or less than five times the federal poverty level. Currently that would work out to $55,850 or less for an individual and $115,250 or less for a family of four." ("Tax Penalty To Hit Nearly 6M Uninsured People," The Associated Press, 9/19/12)

Mitt Romney, Romney Campaign Press Release - President Obama's $5 Trillion Falsehood Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/303318

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