John McCain on Corporations Republican nominee for President; Senior Senator (AZ)

Businesses need a stable and predictable tax policy

Cut taxes for small business so they can thrive

OBAMA: What I’ve said is I want to provide a tax cut for 95% of working Americans. If you make less than a quarter million dollars a year, then you will not see your income tax go up, your capital gains tax go up, your payroll tax. Not one dime. In fact, independent studies have looked at our respective plans and have concluded that I provide three times the amount of tax relief to middle-class families than Sen. McCain does.

Warned about corporate greed & excess; supports bailout

A: Sure. Sure, but let me point out I also warned about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and warned about corporate greed and excess and CEO pay and all that. A lot of us saw this train wreck coming. But there’s also the issue of responsibility. Pres. Eisenhower, on the night before the Normandy invasion, went into his room, and wrote out two letters. One of them was a letter congratulating the great members of the military and Allies that had conducted and succeeded in the greatest invasion in history--still, to this day, and forever. And he wrote out another letter, and that was a letter of resignation from the US Army for the failure of the landings at Normandy. Somehow we’ve lost that accountability I’ve been heavily criticized because I called for the resignation of the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. We’ve got to start also holding people accountable, and we’ve got to reward people who succeed.

Need stricter interpretation and consolidation of regulators

McCAIN: We’ve got fundamental problems in the system. And Main Street is paying a penalty for the excesses and greed in Washington, DC, and in the Wall Street. There’s no doubt that we have a long way to go, and obviously stricter interpretation and consolidation of the various regulatory agencies that weren’t doing their job that has brought on this crisis. But I have a fundamental belief in the goodness and strength of the American worker. And the American worker is the most productive, the most innovative.

Government should be on businesses’ side, not in their way

Our current business tax rate, the second highest in the world, will postpone our recovery from this downturn and make us increasingly less competitive in the world economy. When a corporation plans to expand and hire more workers, they face a choice between building a new plant here at home and building it in a country like Ireland where they will pay less than half the tax rate they now pay. Employers can hire more people, or they can pay more taxes. We can no longer afford the luxury of nostalgia for past times when American business faced little serious competition in the world.

More deductible expensing of equipment investments

• Cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%.
• Allow first-year deduction, or “expensing”, of equipment and technology investments.
• Establish permanent tax credit equal to 10 percent of wages spent on R&D.
• These are essential first steps on the path to fundamental tax reform, which could increase US GDP by as much as 10 percent over the long term.

Cut corporate income taxes to keep jobs here

A: Yes, I will and I’m disappointed, because I think it’s very important that we make the Bush tax cuts permanent. I voted to make them permanent twice already. If people and businesses and families in America are now planning their 2010 budget, there’s a great deal of uncertainty. And if we don’t make the tax cuts permanent, then they will experience what amounts to a tax increase. But I also would make sure that not only the tax cuts are made permanent, but we cut corporate income taxes. That would keep businesses here, and it would keep jobs here and create jobs here. We pay the highest corporate income tax of any nation in the world except for Japan. I’m glad to see that we’re going to allow people to expense new investments in equipment, so they can write them off in a very short period of time.

People worry about corporations unduly influencing elections

But what most Americans worry about profoundly is corporations or individuals with huge checks seeking the undue influence on lawmakers that such largesse is intended to purchase. That is why John McCain has fought to enforce long-standing prohibitions on corporate and union contributions to federal political parties, for sensible donation limits, disclosure of how candidates and campaigns are funded, and the diligent enforcement of these common sense rules that promote maximum public participation in the political process and limit opportunities for corruption.

Skilled chair of Senate Commerce Committee since 1997

As chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, McCain became the senator charged with the issue of forging consensus on tobacco legislation--an unlikely issue in that McCain was himself an avid smoker in the Hanoi Hilton. The bill, christened the McCain bill, passed through the Commerce Committee by a vote of 19-1. Members of both parties, with an eye to events beyond the 1998 mid-term elections, suggested that McCain's skill in shepherding such a contentious issue through committee demonstrated presidential caliber. (The sole dissenting negative vote belonged to the conservative Republican John Ashcroft of Missouri.)

Voted NO on repealing tax subsidy for companies which move US jobs offshore.

Voted YES on reforming bankruptcy to include means-testing & restrictions.

• Declare a debtor eligible only for Chapter 13, as anyone financially capable of paying back their creditors at a rate that still allows them to earn above their state's median income
• Place domestic support obligations such as child support and alimony amongst the first priority claim category of non-dischargeable debts on a debtor filing for bankruptcy
• Require debtors to pay for and attend credit counseling prior to filing for bankruptcy
• Cap home equity protection at $125,000 if the debtor purchased a house within 40 months of filing for bankruptcy.

Voted YES on restricting rules on personal bankruptcy.

Rated 61% by the US COC, indicating a mixed business voting record.

Whether you own a business, represent one, lead a corporate office, or manage an association, the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of AmericaSM provides you with a voice of experience and influence in Washington, D.C., and around the globe.

Our members include businesses of all sizes and sectors—from large Fortune 500 companies to home-based, one-person operations. In fact, 96% of our membership encompasses businesses with fewer than 100 employees.

Mission Statement:

"To advance human progress through an economic, political and social system based on individual freedom, incentive, initiative, opportunity, and responsibility."

Rated 17% by UFCW, indicating a pro-management voting record.

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is North America's Neighborhood Union--1.3 million members with UFCW locals in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Canada. Our members work in supermarkets, drug stores, retail stores, meatpacking and meat processing plants, food processing plants, and manufacturing workers who make everything from fertilizer to shoes. We number over 60,000 strong with 25,000 workers in chemical production and 20,000 who work in garment and textile industries.

The UFCW Senate scorecard is based on these key votes:
1. American Jobs Act (+)
2. Balanced Budget Amendment (-)
3. Rejecting Cut, Cap, and Balance (+)
4. Repeal Health Care Law (-)
5. Sen. Am. 14 Wicker Am. to S 223, excluding unionization at TSA (-)
6. Sen. Am. 740 McCain Am. to HR 2112, defunding TAA (-)
7. Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act (TAA) (+)