Cutting Taxes on Working Americans

Jeff Merkley's plan will cut taxes for 95% of workers and families, and will help the middle class get ahead:

Make College, Child Care, Long Term Care More Affordable

Eight years ago, President George Bush and Republican Senator Gordon Smith inherited an economy that was growing, a budget in surplus, and a middle class that was getting ahead. Today, as the tax burden on the middle class continues to rise, America is now entering its second Bush-Smith recession and skyrocketing health care costs, gasoline prices at the pump, and college tuition are squeezing the middle class. Middle class families are worried about their futures, whether it is affording college for their children or quality care for their elderly parents.

Gordon Smith has voted 67 times for higher taxes and fees on middle class families, including 52 times in the U.S. Senate and 15 times in the Oregon State Senate. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE.

Merkley, who grew up in a working class family and has made a career helping create opportunities for middle class families, will fight to get our economy moving again by re-directing the George Bush-Gordon Smith tax cuts for millionaires to help make life more affordable for middle class families feeling squeezed.

The $88.7 billion per year plan will help middle class families meet their most pressing needs, like paying for college, technical school, child care, or long-term care, and purchasing their first home. Along with the new proposals, Merkley will make permanent the child tax credit, marriage penalty relief, and lower tax rates for the middle class, which were first enacted in 2001.

Bush and Smith: Putting Millionaires First

America's middle class is reeling under the policies and priorities of George Bush and Gordon Smith, who have showered benefits on special interests and the very wealthy in order to spur economic growth. In fact, the Bush-Smith economic plan delivered more than $100 in tax cuts for millionaires for every single dollar received by working, middle-class families.

The result of the Bush-Smith economic policies has been a disaster:

* Since 2000, average real wages for the middle class have fallen. The gap between the rich and middle class is higher than at any point in the last 80 years.

* In Oregon, health care costs rose by 66 percent from 2000 to 2005, forcing many working families to choose between paying their medical bills or their grocery bills.

* The cost of child care and long-term care are forcing many working families past the brink.

* The cost of higher education in Oregon has risen 31 percent since 2002, eliminating opportunities for hardworking students who have earned their way.

* The home mortgage crisis has not only meant disaster for thousands of families in Oregon and across the country who now face foreclosure, but has cost area homeowners billions in lost equity. A looming recession has deferred the dreams of millions of middle class Americans trying to purchase a home.

* The Bush-Smith war in Iraq has already cost American taxpayers over $500 billion directly and has cost Oregon more than $4 billion, and is projected to cost between $1.5 and $3 trillion before it is over.

* A family of four pays about $3,000 in taxes each year just to pay the interest on the Republican debt; since 2001, Bush and Smith have run up another $3 trillion on the national credit card, mostly borrowed from China, Saudi Arabia, and other foreign creditors.

Jeff Merkley: Putting the Middle Class First

As the son of a millworker who became the first in his family to attend college, Merkley knows that middle class families are worrying every day about the rising cost of gas prices and food prices and an economy that is on the brink.

In the Oregon House, Merkley fought to cut taxes for hardworking Oregon families, ending the estate tax for family farms, fisheries, and timber farms; expanding the earned income tax credit for working people; and cutting taxes for families and businesses that invest in renewable energy. [HB 3201, 2007; HB 2810, 2007; HB 3201, 2007]

Merkley knows that for America's economy to prosper, the middle class has to prosper. Bush and Smith are wrong: the measure of our economic health isn't whether the CEO in the corner office gets bigger stock options; it's whether his employees can be confident that their children will do even better than they have.

That's why Merkley will work to make sure middle class families have the opportunities they need to succeed. He'll make college and health care more affordable; help families afford safe and reliable care for their children and long-term care for their older loved ones; and pave a path to home ownership for middle class families. Millionaires don't need the extra $130,000 this year they'll get from the Bush-Smith tax cuts, but middle class families need relief today.

Merkley's Plan to Cut Taxes for 95% of Americans

Jeff Merkley will work with Senator Barack Obama to provide real relief for middle class families. Merkley will support Obama’s "Making Work Pay" tax credit of up to $500 per person, or $1,000 per working family – cutting taxes for 95 percent of workers and their families. This plan will completely eliminate income taxes for 10 million Americans and eliminate income taxes entirely for seniors making less than $50,000.

This refundable income tax credit will offset the payroll tax on the first $8,100 of earnings, but maintain dedicated revenue for Social Security. The tax credit will also provide targeted relief to self-employed small business owners who are forced to pay both the payroll tax on employees and employers.

Estimated cost: $65 billion per year.

Making Life More Affordable for Middle Class Families

Making College and Technical Schools More Affordable:

Students in Oregon now pay an average of more than $13,000 in tuition, fees, room and board. Jeff Merkley understands the importance of a college education. The first in his family to attend college, Merkley worked hard to earn scholarships so he could afford school. In the U.S. Senate, Merkley will create a tuition tax credit covering college and technical school costs up to $4,000 per year by simplifying and expanding current tax law. The credit could be made available based on the previous year's tax return, making the credit available when tuition is due, not a year after the fact.

Estimated cost: $17.9 billion per year.

Doubling the Tax Break for Child Care:

With two children of his own, Jeff Merkley knows just how difficult it can be to find and afford quality care for children. As parents feel the squeeze of a contracting economy quality child care is increasingly important. The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) was designed to help working families afford the cost of child care. As Oregon's U.S. Senator, Merkley will help families pay for rising child care costs by doubling the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit.

Estimated cost: $500 million per year.

Providing Care for Aging Parents:

As the American population ages, more and more of the "sandwich generation" find themselves caring for not only their children, but their elderly parents as well. Jeff Merkley will help multigenerational families to make ends meet by assisting families who are paying for long term care for their aging parents by expanding the Dependent Care Tax Credit to include caregiving expenses paid on behalf of an elderly parent.

Estimated cost: $1.7 billion per year.

Encouraging Home Ownership:

The National Association of Realtors estimates that about 40% of all homebuyers--or 3.2 million homebuyers annually - are buying their first home. As head of Habitat of Humanity of Portland, and then as the Director of Housing at Human Solutions, Jeff Merkley has helped many families in Oregon achieve the American Dream and purchase their first home. Merkley will continue his efforts to help families build wealth and attain their dreams by creating a first-time homebuyer credit worth $1,500 to help first-time homebuyers and restart the housing market.

Estimated cost: $3.6 billion per year.

Posted August 14, 2008
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