Obey, Tate Comment on Mitt Romney’s Tax Increases on 2.2 Million Wisconsin Middle Class Families
Given the recent news that Mitt Romney’s tax plan would force a tax hike of more than $2,000 on 2 million Wisconsin working families, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin hosted a conference call with Party Chair Mike Tate, former Congressman Dave Obey and a Wisconsin resident who will be directly affected by Mitt Romney’s tax increase on middle class families.
“Romney’s tax breaks for the wealthy are so large that to pay for them, he’d have to slash some of the most important tax benefits for the middle class. That could force 2.2 million of Wisconsin’s middle-class families to pay higher taxes because they would lose tax benefits for health insurance premiums covered by their employer, interest on their home mortgages, donations to charity and children and child care,” said former Congressman Dave Obey.
While the Romney tax hike would ask the middle-class to pick up the tab for tax breaks of $5 trillion for the wealthy, President Obama has a vision for an economy built from the middle out — where hard work pays off, responsibility is rewarded and everyone gets a fair shot.
“My family is a typical middle class Wisconsin family,” said Lashell Drake. “Both my husband and I work full time to ensure our children have the future we know they deserve. Over President Obama’s first term we received $5,600 in tax relief. I can’t stress enough how vital that money is to our family. For us, $5,600 back in our pocket allows us to put money in our kids’ college education fund, helps us maintain our house, and gives us some extra money for gas and groceries. With a 14 year old son, and an 11 year old daughter, we’re saving for college funds and growing appetites, so an extra $5,600 in our pocket each year goes a long way.”
Mike Tate added, “Romney has already tried this top down approach and it failed miserably. As Governor of Massachusetts, Romney raised or created more than 1,000 taxes and fees on the middle class and small business, and cut taxes for some of the state’s wealthiest individuals. Romney vetoed or cut more than $100 million worth of critical investments in economic development, including job training, high-tech manufacturing and education in science, technology, engineering and math—critical
investments for the middle class and job creation. The result, under Romney, business start-ups fell by 10 percent, hitting their lowest point in his last year in office.”
Obama for America released a new online calculator that allows individuals to see just what the Romney tax hike would mean for their family as well as how much tax relief they have received over the last four years as a result of President Obama’s policies. It also estimates how much money Americans will save next year under the President’s proposed tax plan. Click here for the online tax cut calculator.
