Romney: SEN. OBAMA CALLS HIGHER TAXES "FAIR"

Claims Fiscal Restraint, But Would Raise Taxes To Pay For Big Spending

"Our nation cannot afford the Democrats and a Democrat President like Hillary Clinton who will sign tax increases into law. Instead of following Democrats, we need to lower taxes, cut spending, and grow the economy." – Gov. Mitt Romney (Gov. Mitt Romney, Press Release, 10/25/07)

For Sen. Obama, Fiscal Restraint Means Higher Taxes To Pay For More Spending:

Sen. Obama Claims He Will Bring Fiscal Restraint To Washington. "Obama loves his Republicans. He makes an open pitch for GOP voters in his stump speeches, even as he calls them out in his stump speeches, saying he can beat Mitt and Rudy and Huckabee. … He went on to contrast himself with all the Republicans in the field, saying he believes in fiscal restraint 'unlike the Republican orthodoxy.'" (Aswini Anburajan, "Obama Contrasts Himself With Romney," NBC News' First Read, http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com, Posted 12/30/07)

But Sen. Obama Would Hike Taxes To Pay For His Health Care Plan. "Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama on Tuesday offered a plan to provide health care to millions of Americans and more affordable medical insurance, financed by tax increases on the wealthy. … The experts also said Obama could pay for his plan mostly through steps that the candidate already has said he would take -- allowing President Bush's tax cuts on dividends and capital gains and on those making more than about $250,000 a year to expire in 2010 instead of acting to make them permanent. The rest of the $65 billion funding could come by raising taxes on inheritances worth more than $7 million." (Mike Glover, "Taxes On Wealthy Would Rise Under Obama Health Care Plan," The Associated Press, 5/29/07)

THE ROMNEY VISION: "THE RIGHT ANSWER IS ALWAYS TO KEEP TAXES DOWN"

Gov. Romney Rejects The Democrats' Attempts To Raise Taxes On American Families:
Gov. Romney Believes That America "Can't Afford" The Democrats' Plans To Increase Taxes. GOV. ROMNEY: "Charlie Rangel just came out this week saying he wants to put a surcharge on taxes, largest increase in the history of America. Look, more taxes are what the Democrats have in mind to fund many of Hillary Clinton's million good ideas. We can't afford that. It would slow down the economy. It would kill job creation in this country." (CNBC's "Mad Money," 10/28/07)

Gov. Romney: "The Right Answer Is Always To Keep Taxes Down." GOV. ROMNEY: "The right answer is always to keep taxes down. Don't add new taxes, but instead allow the American people and the entrepreneurial spirit to grow our economy. That's the best way to get revenues for government and the best ways to get good jobs for our people." (CNBC's "Mad Money," 10/28/07)

Gov. Romney Opposes The Democrats' Plans To Roll Back The Bush Tax Cuts. GOV. ROMNEY: "Let me tell you what I'd do, as opposed to what Hillary Clinton would do with regard to our tax and spending policies. First of all, I would make the Bush tax cuts permanent immediately – all of them, not some of them, but all of them." (Gov. Mitt Romney, Remarks To The Club For Growth, 10/17/07)

SEN. OBAMA: A TAX HIKE "RESTORES SOME FAIRNESS"

The Democrats Support Raising Taxes On American Families:

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) Said That Rolling Back The Bush Tax Cuts "Simply Restores Some Fairness." OBAMA: "Those kinds of progressive tax steps, while closing loopholes and rolling back the Bush tax cuts to the top 1 percent, simply restores some fairness and a sense that we're all in this together as opposed to each of us being in it on our own." (NBC's Democratic Presidential Candidate Debate At Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, 10/30/07)

Sen. Obama Would Raise The Cap On Social Security Payroll Taxes. OBAMA: "I think the best way to approach this is to adjust the cap on the payroll tax so that people like myself are paying a little bit more and people who are in need are protected. That is the option that I will be pushing forward." (NBC's "Meet The Press," 11/11/07)

Sen. Obama Even Supports A Tax Increase On Himself. NBC's TIM RUSSERT: "A tax increase for some?" OBAMA: "Tax increase for people like myself probably." (NBC's "Meet The Press," 11/11/07

Sen. Obama Wants Americans To Pay "A Little Bit More," Even "Middle Class Folks." OBAMA: "So what I've said -- and I know some others on this stage have said -- is that among the options that are available, the best one is to lift the cap on the payroll tax, potentially exempting folks in the middle -- middle-class folks -- but making sure that the wealthy are paying more of their fair share, a little bit more." (NBC's Democratic Presidential Candidate Debate At Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, 10/30/07)