Opponents: Romney-Ryan Ticket Is 'Reverse Robin Hood'

"A Romney-Ryan White House would be a dream for the richest 1 percent of Americans who are millionaires, but an economic nightmare for the vast majority of middle-class and lower-income Americans" says Americans for Tax Fairness Action, a self-described diverse coalition of over 140 national and state groups. 

"A Romney-Ryan White House would be Robin Hood in reverse, and that's not the kind of America we want to live in," said Frank Clemente, campaign manager for Americans for Tax Fairness Action.  "Both of their budget plans would lavish the richest 1 percent of Americans who make over $1 million with yearly tax breaks of at least $250,000, while raising taxes on 95 percent of Americans who make less than $200,000. Politicians stacking the deck in favor of their wealthy campaign contributors and sticking the rest of us with the tab is not right."

"We need to overhaul the tax code so that it reflects our values, and so everyone plays by the same rules and pays their fair share," added Clemente. "That's why we should end tax breaks for companies like those that Bain Capital invests in that ship jobs overseas, and level the playing field for small businesses that create jobs in America.  We should end tax breaks for the rich like Mitt Romney who use offshore tax shelters in places like the Cayman Islands to avoid paying the taxes they owe, so they can pay a lower tax rate than the teachers who educate our kids."

The organization contends that Romney's tax plan, which would make the Bush tax cuts permanent, including for the richest 2 percent, and cut the top income tax rate by another 20 percent, would give people making over $1 million in 2013 a net tax cut of over $250,000, according to a new analysis by Citizens for Tax Justice.  AFTA says that Romney's tax plan would increase taxes by an average of $2,000 on families making less than $200,000 a year, according to a new report by the Tax Policy Center.  

The organization is upset that Ryan authored the House budget that also would make the Bush tax breaks permanent, including those for the richest 2 percent, and cut by 30 percent both the corporate income tax rate and the top tax rate paid by the wealthiest Americans.

  

They say that it would give the richest Americans a tax break of nearly $300,000, while raising taxes on a typical household earning between $50,000 and $100,000 and filing jointly by over $1,350, according to the Joint Economic Committee. 

The organization contends that it also would end the Medicare guarantee and requires seniors to pay $6,000 more per year for fewer benefits than they get now, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation Program on Medicare Policy.

Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) Action is the 501(c)(4) arm of Americans for Tax Fairness, a diverse campaign of 140 national, state and local organizations united in support of a tax system that works for all Americans. It has come together based on the belief that the country needs comprehensive, progressive tax reform that results in greater revenue to meet our growing needs. This starts by ending the Bush-era tax cuts for the richest 2 percent and by making critical investments that create and sustain jobs while taking a balanced approach to addressing America's fiscal challenges.

SOURCE Americans for Tax Fairness Action