Giuliani Seeks To Prevent Democrat Tax Hike

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

28 August 2007

Republican Presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani on Saturday said Democrats would raise taxes and "brutalize" the economy if they win the 2008 presidential election.

Outlining his tax plans at a press conference in Manchester, New Hampshire, the former Mayor of New York said he would ensure that President Bush's tax cuts are made permanent, abolish the estate tax, eliminate the marriage penalty, permanently extend the child tax credit and rein in the growth of the Alternative Minimum Tax.

“I’ve seen how pro-growth policies lead to broader prosperity,” Giuliani said. “We’ll not only keep the current tax cuts in place or their equivalent, we’ll enact additional tax relief and give the Death Tax the death penalty. High tax rates hurt business and destroy jobs. I know that tax cuts are good for the economy. It’s not just theory for me because I cut taxes and got results as Mayor of New York City. As President, I will cut taxes further.”

However, not only is Giuliani disparaging about the Democrats' policies, he also expressed serious doubt on their ability to govern.

"The leading Democratic candidates have never run a city, they've never run a state, I don't think they've ever run a business of any size," he remarked at a recent campaign stop in San Diego.

The Giuliani campaign is being backed by the financial might of Steve Forbes, who is his National Campaign Co-Chair and was also present at Giuliani's 'Your Money Your Choice' taxpayers forum on Saturday.

Reforming the US tax code is one of Giuliani's 'Twelve Commitments' to the American people and in standing for the presidency Giuliani wants to prevent an "unprecedented tax increase of at least $3 trillion" he says is being proposed by Democratic candidates.

All the leading Democratic candidates are advocating some form of tax increase for the wealthy and large corporations while pledging tax cuts for low- and middle-income taxpayers. In May, Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton outlined her 'Nine Point Plan' which proposed to reduce special breaks for big corporations, eliminate incentives for American companies to ship jobs and profits overseas and restore "fiscal responsibility" to government by rolling back income tax cuts. Meanwhile, Sen. John Edwards, another leading Democratic candidate, has said that his tax reform plans rest on three pillars: (1) Creating three new tax breaks to reward work, saving and the family; (2) Increasing tax on high-income Americans, reversing what he called the shift of the tax code onto middle class wages; and (3) Ending special tax breaks for "insiders".

Edwards has also pledged that he would increase the rate of capital gains tax to 28% to ensure that high-income investors will pay taxes on their investment income at a similar rate to that paid by regular families on their earned income. Edwards would also repeal the Bush tax cuts for the families who make more than $200,000 a year, crack down on the use of offshore tax havens, raise tax on hedge and private equity funds, and bring in a cap on executive pensions.

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