McCain Fibs on Obama's Tax Plans

For the second time in less than 24 hours, non-partisan web-site FactCheck.org nails the McCain campaign, this time for three ads that distort Barack Obama's tax proposals.

McCain released three new ads with multiple false and misleading claims about Obama's tax proposals.

A TV spot claims Obama once voted for a tax increase "on people making just $42,000 a year." A Spanish-language radio ad claims the measure Obama supported would have raised taxes on "families" making $42,000, which is simply false. The TV ad claims in a graphic that Obama would "raise taxes on middle class." In fact, Obama's plan promises cuts for middle-income taxpayers and would increase rates only for persons with family incomes above $250,000 or with individual incomes above $200,000.

The radio ad claims Obama would increase taxes "on the sale of your home." In fact, home-sale profits of up to $500,000 per couple would continue to be exempt from capital gains taxes. Very few sales would see an increase under Obama's proposal to raise the capital gains rate. A second radio ad, in English, says, "Obama has a history of raising taxes" on middle-class Americans. But that's false.

These ads continue what's become a pattern of misrepresentation by the McCain campaign about his opponent's tax proposals.

This brings TSC's unofficial tally of false statements to 16 for McCain and 6 for Obama. When is the mainstream media going to blow the whistle on this nonsense?

--Ballard Burgher