Now that we’ve looked inside the financial reports of the major candidates for President of the United States, let’s take a look at the Democrats’ plans for reworking the income tax system if elected. They are as one would predict, very similar.
Hillary Clinton wants to eliminate the “Bush tax cuts” for those earning more than $250,000 (and provide fewer opportunities for deductions) while preserving the cuts for everyone else. She wants to limit tax-free compensation for high-income earners to help pay for health insurance. She would like to raise the rate for the “carried interest” tax, a loophole that lets some fund manage claim their income is a capital gain.
Barack Obama would eliminate income tax for seniors earning less than $50,000, and like Clinton, would let the Bush tax cuts expire for those earning more than $250,000. Obama will also raise the tax rate for carried interest.
John Edwards would let the Bush tax cuts expire for those earning more than $200,000 and categorize fund managers’ pay as regular income, not carried interest.
Your income taxes: What the candidates want [CNN Money]
Money Magazine has an eye-opening look inside the personal financial reports of the leading presidential candidates, including asset allocations and income sources. The article points out anything out of the ordinary with the candidates’ holdings and even offers money management suggestions from a financial adviser.
Hillary Clinton. Net worth: $34.9 million. 2006 income: $12.1 million. More than 85% of her asset allocation is in cash and bonds.
John Edwards. Net worth: $54.7 million. 2006 income: $3.7 million. As a former consultant for Fortress Investment Group, 43% of his assets are in hedge fund investments.
Rudolph Giuliani. Net worth: $52.2 million. 2006 income: $17 million. In 2006, Giuliani averaged one speech every three days for a total of $11.4 million of his $17 million income.
John McCain. Net worth: $40.4 million. 2006 income: $3.9 million. John McCain has donated all of his income from writing — and he has written several books — to charity. Everything except $50,000 is in his wife’s name or in a trust for his children.
Barack Obama. Net worth: $1.3 million. 2006 income: $991,000. $350,000 is split between a socially responsible index mutual fund and a managed fund with a 60/40 mix of bonds and equities.
Mitt Romney. Net worth: $202 million. 2006 income: $37.6 million. His high income is due to timely sales of stocks that might be deemed “politically sensitive,” like those of European oil companies that do business with Iran.
Fred Thompson. Net worth: $8.1 million. 2006 income: $9.4 million. Fred’s acting career has seen him playing POTUS as well as other political roles, including himself. He has $3.2 million in cash right now. If he doesn’t successfully run for president, that cash will help him pay for his retirement.
Millionaires-in-Chief [Money Magazine]
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