Business proposal for Barack Obama

¶ … personal income tax policy become one of the primary issues in the 2012 Presidential election campaigns from both parties. Obama has publically stated that he wishes for the Bush tax cuts, which substantially advantage the top one percent of income earners, to expire. However, he wishes to retain tax savings for the middle class. Mitt Romney on the other hand has stated that he would like to extend the Bush tax cuts, accelerate them even, and further reduce rates that individuals pay to United States as part of his plan to stimulate the economy. This analysis will consider both sides of this contentious issue and make recommendations to the Obama campaign as to how best to market their position on personal income tax policy.

Both candidates offer the American electorate only general outlines of their major tax proposals. Obama campaign touches on broad concepts such as raising tax rates on higher-income individuals and closing loopholes on millionaires and billionaires. As for more specifics, the president has elaborated on tax changes he supports in his annual budgets and State of the Union addresses, as well as in the corporate tax reform proposal issued by the U.S. Treasury earlier this year. On the other hand, Romney points out some general tax changes he favors, such as income tax rate reductions and maintaining the current tax treatment of investments. But the Republican candidate's plan also is light on details. Both candidates are overlooking a complex and inefficient system that hinders economic growth and the tax plan should be simplified and streamlined in order to reduce administrative overhead in all industries and become a substantial source of economic growth.

Romney's Position

Romney's tax plan is fairly simple upon the surface. He wants to cut all income tax rates by 20%, eliminate the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax, and maintain and expand tax breaks for investment income. He says he would pay for his plan by reducing or eliminating tax deductions, exemptions and credits, but hasn't specified which ones. His campaign cites studies by conservative academics and think tanks that say the plan will spur economic growth, generating enough additional money to pay for the tax cuts (Ramer).

This is an issue that is important to all Americans. Not only do citizens want to have the tax benefits reduced or maintained, but many Americans are also seeking a sense of fairness in the tax code. For example, Romney himself only pays a tax rate in the low teens while many Americans in the middle class of income earners actually pay higher rates. The justification for this position is often stated that it will stimulate economic growth and accelerate the economy while reducing unemployment.