Tuesday, June 10, 2008

MccCain flip flops on Estate Tax (aka the Death Tax)

excerpt from article:

"Lashing out at the "estate tax" is nothing new for most Republicans -- though it would seem to be for Sen. John McCain. One way you can tell is by simply contrasting his Tuesday remarks to small business owners -- in which he described the tax "one of the most unfair" in the entire code -- with his historical opposition to a total repeal of taxation on all inherited wealth that many of his Senate GOP colleagues have long lusted after.

Another way to identify McCain as a recent, and perhaps not wholly sincere, convert to the cause is to note his diction. Most opponents of the "estate tax" refuse to call it that, instead preferring the "death tax" moniker -- implying a "double taxation." (In fact this is not entirely accurate, as some inherited estate wealth comes from capital gains that were never taxed a first time.) While it's impossible to know whether McCain's avoidance of that cliched demagoguery masks a conflicted heart, the Congressional Record does offer a few tidbits that reveal a more nuanced view of the issue than he expressed today."

to read the rest of the article click here

No comments: