2018 MO Senate race: on Tax Reform

Claire McCaskill: Ad-Watch: Supports middle-class tax cuts, not all tax cuts

[Josh Hawley's TV ad accused McCaskill of opposing tax cuts]. McCaskill's team sent several instances where she did favor middle-class tax cuts.

McCaskill offered GOP tax plan amendments to protect deductions for Missouri's working families.
A press release states McCaskill supported the Working Families Tax Relief Act. Congress' website confirms she cosponsored the act.
McCaskill introduced a bill alongside Republican Senator Susan Collins that would "extend tax cuts for small businesses and American workers."

A McCaskill spokesperson said, "She has a long history of supporting [tax] bills that are really focused on the middle class." A Hawley spokesperson said McCaskill does not favor middle-class tax cuts, because, in another vote, she did not support the Republican tax bill. Source: KOMU-TV-8 Ad-Watch on 2018 Missouri Senate race Feb 27, 2018

Josh Hawley: Ad-Watch: tax plan gives 25%, not 83%, to richest 1%

Claire McCaskill ad claim: Hawley supported the tax plan giving 83 percent of tax benefits to the richest 1 percent of Americans

We found this to be incomplete. A Tax Policy Center analysis shows about 25 percent of tax cuts will go to the top 1 percent in 2025. The amount of tax cuts going to the richest Americans does jump to 83 percent in 2027, but only because most individual income tax changes expire then.

Hawley's team called the attack false in a press release saying, "It's a classic case of politicians using a technically accurate statistic but without the context or explanation it requires."

Source: KOMU-TV-8 Fact-check on 2018 Missouri Senate race Feb 27, 2018

Josh Hawley: Keep deductions for local taxes & 401(k) contributions

Hawley himself, staked out similar parameters: He said he wants passage of a tax reform plan "to provide real tax relief for working people" and changes to parts of the tax code that are currently "rigged" for the rich. When asked about two elements Republicans have floated that Democrats say could hurt middle-class taxpayers--eliminating deductions on state and local taxes paid, and lowering the cap on tax-free contributions to 401k retirement plans--he said he is uncomfortable with both ideas. Source: St. Louis Post Dispatch on 2018 Missouri Senate race Oct 25, 2017

Austin Petersen: 15% flat tax across the board

In a perfect world, we would get rid of the income tax. In the meantime, we need a flat tax--15% across the board: personal, corporate, capital gains, you name it. This is the only way to make the system fair. By establishing a flat tax and eliminating the self-employment tax, we can level the playing field. We must treat small businesses just the same as we do large corporations. Source: 2018 Missouri Senatorial website AustinPetersen.com Oct 1, 2017

The above quotations are from 2018 Missouri Senate race: debates and news coverage. Click here for definitions & background information on Tax Reform. Click here for other issues (main summary page). Click here for more quotes by Claire McCaskill on Tax Reform.
*Candidates and political leaders on Tax Reform:*
*Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:* GA:Chambliss(R) IA:Harkin(D) MI:Levin(D) MT:Baucus(D) NE:Johanns(R) OK:Coburn(R) SD:Johnson(D) WV:Rockefeller(D) *Resigned from 113th House:* AL-1:Jo Bonner(R) FL-19:Trey Radel(R) LA-5:Rod Alexander(R) MA-5:Ed Markey(D) MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R) NC-12:Melvin Watt(D) SC-1:Tim Scott(R)	*Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:* AR-4:Tom Cotton(R) GA-1:Jack Kingston(R) GA-10:Paul Broun(R) GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R) HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D) IA-1:Bruce Braley(D) LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R) ME-2:Mike Michaud(D) MI-14:Gary Peters(D) MT-0:Steve Daines(R) OK-5:James Lankford(R) PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D) TX-36:Steve Stockman(R) WV-2:Shelley Capito(R)	*Retired House as of Jan. 2015:* AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R) AR-2:Tim Griffin(R) CA-11:George Miller(D) CA-25:Howard McKeon(R) CA-33:Henry Waxman(D) CA-45:John Campbell(R) IA-3:Tom Latham(R) MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R) NC-6:Howard Coble(R) NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D) NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R) NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D) NY-21:Bill Owens(D) PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R) UT-4:Jim Matheson(D) VA-8:Jim Moran(D) VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Jan 06, 2019