FACTBOX: Candidates stake out tax positions
(Reuters) - Many analysts believe the next U.S. president, whether Republican or Democrat, will tackle the issue of tax reform as President George W. Bush's tax cuts are due to expire at the end of 2010. Here is a brief summary of where the presidential candidates stand on taxes based on information provided by the Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center.
DEMOCRATS:
Hillary Clinton -- Health care plan includes some new tax credits and would roll back some of Bush's tax cuts for top income earners. Also proposes new tax breaks for retirement savings.
Barack Obama -- Proposes new tax credits for workers and college tuition and a refundable mortgage tax credit. Calls for eliminating taxes on seniors earning less than $50,000 a year. Also proposes eliminating capital gains taxes for start-up businesses and a tax break on land sales to beginning family farmers. He would roll back Bush tax cuts for top income earners.
John Edwards -- Calls for new tax breaks to encourage work, savings and families. Proposes raising the top tax rate on long-term capital gains to 28 percent and would tax hedge fund and private equity earnings as ordinary income. Would repeal Bush tax cuts for highest income earners.
Joe Biden -- Calls for simplifying education tax breaks and turning them into refundable tax credits. He would repeal Bush tax cuts for top 1 percent of Americans.
Chris Dodd -- Calls for a carbon tax to fund research and development of energy efficient technology.
Dennis Kucinich -- Would double tax refunds and credits for people earning less than $80,000.
Bill Richardson -- Calls for a health insurance tax credit and would provide new tax credits for technology and innovation.
REPUBLICANS:
Rudy Giuliani -- Supports lower personal and corporate income tax rates and new tax breaks for health insurance. He would make permanent current tax breaks for married people and the child tax credit. He also would expand tax-free savings accounts and eliminate estate taxes.
Mike Huckabee -- Would replace federal income and payroll taxes with a national sales tax. Would provide a monthly rebate to poor people to offset the tax on purchases.
Mitt Romney -- Wants to make Bush tax cuts permanent. Backs tax-free savings accounts for middle income people. He also would cut corporate tax rates and eliminate taxes on interest income, capital gains and dividends for taxpayers who earn less than $200,000 a year.
John McCain -- Backs lower tax rates and spending cuts.
Fred Thompson -- Would give taxpayers a choice between current tax code and its many credits and deductions and a flat income tax of 10 percent for incomes up to $100,000 and 25 percent over that.
Ron Paul -- Supports cutting taxes and spending.
Tom Tancredo -- Would replace income tax with a flat tax or national sales tax.
(Compiling by Donna Smith in Washington; editing by Mohammad Zargham)
