There’s no need for me to explain in detail the favored tax policy by each of the four leading candidates for the President of the United States for two reasons. First, Jeanne Sahadi wrote an excellent tax policy summary for Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain and Mitt Romney. Secondly, the candidates’ stances now may be indicative of what will happen once they are sworn into office, but there are hurdles built into the system. Additionally, candidates’ positions can change between now and 2009

Here are some things to take away from what they candidates say they want.

• They all want to preserve recent tax cuts for low- to middle-income earners.
• The two Republicans want to preserve recent tax cuts for households earning over $250,000 while the Democrats want to repeal these cuts.
• Romney wants to lower the rate on the lowest tax bracket to 7.5% from 10% and exempt workers over 65 from having to pay Social Security tax.
• Obama wants to eliminate income tax for seniors earning less than $50,000 and add a $500 to $1,000 credit to all households with working family members (phased out for households with income between $150,000 and $200,000).

• The two Democrats want to expand the earned income tax credit and the saver’s credit.

  There are more differences in the article.

  The big questions are whether these positions will change as campaigns get tighter and we approach the general election, whether opinions will change once the new President is sworn in, and whether they can get the changes pushed through Congress.

  According to the polls, the economy seems to be a hot issue among primary voters, and the candidates’ positions on income tax are related to this priority. Will the economy still be in the front of voters’ minds when the general election rolls around?

I started taking a look at the proposals for revision of the income tax code being tossed around by the latest presidential candidates yesterday. The Democrats are in favor of continuing the Bush administration’s tax cuts, but only for certain individuals. They also support a number of tax cuts that I’ll write about in the future.

Meanwhile, here are the Republicans’ thoughts on income tax.

Rudolph Giuliani wants to make the Bush tax cuts permanent and lower tax rates for corporations. He may consider lowering the marginal tax rates for individuals as well.

Mitt Romney, like Rudy, would write the existing tax cuts for individuals in stone and lower corporate taxes. He would like to drop the taxes on interest, dividends and capital gains for taxpayers with an income under $200,000.

John McCain would like to make the Bush tax cuts permanent and further simplify the tax code. McCain is considering removal of the Alternative Minimum Tax, which was originally designed to keep higher income individuals from avoiding a significant portion of what would otherwise be their tax bill. Thanks to inflation, more and more middle class individuals are caught paying the Alternative Minimum.

Fred Thompson would also like to keep the Bush tax cuts on the books and remove the Alternative Minimum Tax. He wants to lower corporate taxes and eliminate the estate tax. Thompson has also suggested giving tax payers a choice between typical tax rates and a somewhat “flat tax.”

Mike Huckabee wants to do away with the income tax and replace the system with a higher sales tax of 30%. Theoretically, the government would send checks to all taxpayers each month to reimburse them for a portion of these taxes to ensure that those who must spend close to their entire income aren’t unfairly burdened.

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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