Romney and Obama on Investments

It can be difficult to have a lovely country or at one that looks “decent” without having the tax element, don’t you think so? Taxes are what keep the country’s presentation to the world looking fine. If the people wish to have a wealthy country then it is not only the job of the government to do its job by helping the people out but also the people’s job to pay taxes so that the government may help them out. Taxes are a duty all Americans have to the nation if we expect to see the evidence of a great and prosperous economy. A conflict the nation has nonetheless faced is who and when should taxes be higher or lower. On the issue of taxes on investments, President Obama believes taxes should be higher while Mitt Romney believes they should be cut.

Romney would agree with the quote “Paying taxes should be framed as a glorious civic duty worthy of gratitude - not a punishment for making money” by Alain de Botton. Not only does Romney believe that the wealthy should not pay higher taxes he also believes that if the rich has more money in their hands they’ll create jobs which will eventually lead to more money for the economy.

In an article from CNN by William Gale, “Romney starts to fill in blanks on his tax plan” Mr. Gale sated “During the summer, two colleagues and I showed that if Romney did not want to add new taxes on savings and investments -- and raising savings and investments is the second of four main planks in Romney's overall economic package -- he could not finance his tax cuts without generating a net tax cut for households with income above $200,000.” Although Romney’s intentions would be to help encourage the rich to make more investments by cutting taxes on investments, it is difficult to say that it would work out to make enough money to help improve the country’s economy

In an article by Jeanne Sahadi “The facts behind Romney's $5 trillion tax plan” she stated “Romney wants to cut everyone's income tax rates by 20%, slash the corporate tax rate even more, repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax and make investments tax-free for those making less than $100,000 ($200,000 if married).” Romney simply wants it easier for the rich to make more investments so that there could be more money coming into the economy however a issue that arises with his proposal is that those who do not meet the standards of making $100,000 or $200,000 if married get taxed which in the eyes of some may seem unfair. The rich will continue to get rich as some may say.

Obama’s view on taxes on investments is very different to Romney’s. Obama would agree with the quote “The 400 of us pay a lower part of our income in taxes than our receptionists do, or our cleaning ladies, for that matter. If you're in the luckiest 1 per cent of humanity, you owe it to the rest of humanity to think about the other 99 per cent” by Warren Buffett. Obama has often stated that if the middle class is doing good than the economy is doing great but if the middle class is not doing well than neither is the economy. He says this because it is the middle class citizens whom go out and put money into the economy more than the lower and rich income citizens.

In the article “Obama-Romney on taxes: How much should the rich pay?” also by Jeanne Sahadi, it stated “…President Barack Obama wants high-income households to pay higher tax rates on income and investments. His stated goals are to help reduce deficits, to help the country make critical investments and to increase fairness in the tax code.” Why does Obama believe this is the right thing to be done? It is simply because he sees it as being more fair.

It has always been an obligation by the people whether they like it or not to pay taxes because it is what keeps our nation going on a stable if not very rich economy. As Benjamin Franklin once stated “Certainty? In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.” He was indeed right but perhaps it is not only about just paying taxes, it’s about taxing fairly as Obama may see it or it is in fact right to not tax some for the benefit of the country as Romney may see it.

Sources:

Gale, William. "Romney Starts to Fill in Blanks on His Tax Plan." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web.

Sahadi, Jeanne. "The Facts behind Romney's $5 Trillion Tax Plan." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 12 Oct. 2012. Web.

Sahadi, Jeanne. "Obama-Romney on Taxes: How Much Should the Rich Pay?" CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 06 Nov. 2012. Web.