$4,000

<p>This is the tax increase that middle-class families will supposedly face if President Obama is re-elected, according to the Romney-Ryan campaign. As the GOP candidate for vice president, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), <a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/10/13/Ryan-Obama-would-raise-middle-class-taxes/UPI-97771350174600/#ixzz29liOPOB">put it</a> Oct. 13, "President Obama refuses to get serious about spending. And given the president's preference to raise taxes, just to pay the interest on the debt that the president has racked up and proposed, a middle-income family will see their tax bill grow by $4,000 a year."</p>
<br>

<p>The figure comes from a <a href="http://www.aei-ideas.org/2012/10/study-obamas-big-budget-deficits-could-mean-a-4000-a-year-middle-class-tax-hike/">blog post</a> published by the conservative American Enterprise Institute think-tank based on some AEI <a href="http://www.aei.org/files/2012/10/01/-a-simple-measure-of-the-distributional-burden-of-debt-accumulation_210316287852.pdf">research</a>, but the institute wasn't estimating the cost of specific Obama proposals. Instead, it was estimating how much of the taxes paid by those making $100,000 to $200,000 would go to paying interest on the national debt. By that measure, Romney and Ryan will "raise" tax bills by $2,732, FactCheck.org <a href="http://factcheck.org/2012/10/romneys-4000-tax-tale/">reported</a>, adding, "That's nonsense, too."

la-ol-paul-ryan-4000-20121019

( Michael Sears / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / MCT )

This is the tax increase that middle-class families will supposedly face if President Obama is re-elected, according to the Romney-Ryan campaign. As the GOP candidate for vice president, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), put it Oct. 13, "President Obama refuses to get serious about spending. And given the president's preference to raise taxes, just to pay the interest on the debt that the president has racked up and proposed, a middle-income family will see their tax bill grow by $4,000 a year."

The figure comes from a blog post published by the conservative American Enterprise Institute think-tank based on some AEI research, but the institute wasn't estimating the cost of specific Obama proposals. Instead, it was estimating how much of the taxes paid by those making $100,000 to $200,000 would go to paying interest on the national debt. By that measure, Romney and Ryan will "raise" tax bills by $2,732, FactCheck.org reported, adding, "That's nonsense, too."

Comments (0)

Add comments | Discussion FAQ

Currently there are no comments. Be the first to comment!

The Courant is using Facebook comments on stories. To comment on courant.com articles, sign into Facebook and enter your comment in the field below. Comments will appear in your Facebook News Feed unless you choose otherwise. To report spam or abuse, click the X next to the comment. For guidelines on commenting, click here.