President-elect Obama's Promises About Taxes

Promise Honored Extend unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspend taxes on these benefits (Comments)
"Obama and Biden believe Congress should immediately extend unemployment insurance for an additional 13 weeks to help families that are being hit hardest by this downturn. In addition, they believe we should temporarily suspend taxes on unemployment insurance benefits as a way of giving more relief to families." — Change.gov Agenda - The Economy

Promise Honored Extend and index the 2007 Alternative Minimum Tax patch (Comments)
"Extend and index the temporary fix to the Alternative Minimum Tax that was passed in 2007." — Obama campaign interviews with the Tax Policy Center

Promise Honored Require reporting of more detail on capital gains taxes (Comments)
During Mr. Obama's campaign interviews with the Tax Policy Center he said he would require taxpayers to report the initial value of their investment, called the basis, on which they pay capital gains tax. This measure is expected to deter underreporting of capital gains and increase tax revenues. — Tax Policy Center

Promises Broken Eliminate income taxes for seniors making less than $50,000 (Comments)
"Barack Obama will eliminate all income taxation of seniors making less than $50,000 per year. This will eliminate taxes for 7 million seniors -– saving them an average of $1,400 a year — and will also mean that 27 million seniors will not need to file an income tax return at all." — Obama's Comprehensive Tax Plan

"When I'm president, we'll work to see that no retiree making less than $50,000 each year has to pay income tax." — 9/18/07, Washington D.C.

Promise Broken Create a $3,000 tax credit for companies that add jobs (Comments)
"Obama and Biden will provide a new temporary tax credit to companies that add jobs here in the United States. During 2009 and 2010, existing businesses will receive a $3,000 refundable tax credit for each additional full-time employee hired. For example, if a company that currently has 10 U.S. employees increases its domestic full time employment to 20 employees, this company would get a $30,000 tax credit — enough to offset the entire added payroll tax costs to the company for the first $50,000 of income for the new employees. The tax credit will benefit all companies creating net new jobs, even those struggling to make a profit.— The Obama-Biden Plan

Promise Hedged Eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses & start-ups (Comments)
"I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow." — 8/28/08, Denver

Promise Hedged Expand the earned income tax credit for workers (Comments)
''Expand the earned income tax credit for workers without children and taxpayers with more than three children. Equalize threshholds for married filers and head of household filers." — Obama campaign interviews with the Tax Policy Center

Promise Hedged Provide a $500 tax credit to low and middle-income workers (Comments)
""Senator Obama has proposed a new refundable tax credit for wage earners and the self-employed. His Making Work Pay credit would equal 6.2 percent of up to $8,100 of earnings (yielding a maximum credit of approximately $500). Spouses filing jointly would each claim the credit based on their own earnings.9 To match the campaign’s stated revenue targets, we assume the credit phases out based on adjusted gross income at a 5 percent rate beginning at $75,000 ($150,000 for couples). All thresholds would be indexed for inflation after 2009." — Obama campaign interviews with the Tax Policy Center

"Obama will provide all low- and middle-income workers a $500 Making Work Pay tax credit to offset the payroll tax those workers pay in every paycheck." — Obama's Blueprint for Change

Promise Hedged Create a new $4,000 American Opportunity Tax Credit (Comments)
"I'll create a new and refundable tax credit worth $4,000 for tuition and fees every year." — 11/7/07, Bettendorf, Iowa

Promise Hedged I'll put a windfall profits tax on oil companies (Comments)
"I'll put a windfall profits tax on oil companies and use it to help Indiana families pay their heating and cooling bills and reduce energy costs." — 4/25/08, Indianapolis

"I'll make oil companies like Exxon pay a tax on their windfall profits, and we'll use the money to help families pay for their skyrocketing energy costs and other bills." — 6/9/08, Raleigh, North Carolina

Promise in the Works Ensure taxes don't go up for families with incomes lower than $250,000 (Comments)
"And I can make a firm pledge: Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 will see their taxes increase — not your income taxes, not your payroll taxes, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes." — 9/12/08, Dover, N.H.

Promise in the Works Cut taxes for 95 percent of all working families (Comments)
"I will cut taxes — cut taxes — for 95 percent of all working families." — 8/28/08, Denver

Simplify the student aid application process (Comments)
"I'll also simplify the financial aid application process so that we don't have a million students who aren't applying for financial aid because it's too difficult. I will start by eliminating the current student aid form altogether. We'll use tax data instead." — 11/7/07, Bettendorf, Iowa

Help low-income workers by tripling earned income tax credit (Comments)
"To make work pay, I will also triple the Earned Income Tax Credit for full-time workers making the minimum wage." — 7/18/07, Washington D.C.

Crack down on tax evasion (Comments)
"We'll create a list of countries where tax evaders hide their income and cost America untold billions of dollars every year. We'll lead the international community to new standards of information sharing. And we'll penalize companies and individuals who use those havens and illegally evade their tax obligations." — 9/18/07, Washington D.C.

Provide a homeowners' tax credit (Comments)
"We'll provide struggling homeowners some relief by giving them a tax credit that would cover 10 percent of a family's mortgage interest payment every year." — 1/29/08, El Dorado, Kansas

Cut taxes for the middle class (Comments)
"I have not only pledged not to raise their taxes, I've been the first candidate in this race to specifically say I would cut their taxes." — 4/16/08, Philadelphia

"We will provide real tax relief for the middle class by cutting taxes for 150 million Americans." — 6/12/08, Kaukauna, Wis.

Simplify federal income tax filing (Comments)
"When I'm president, we'll put in place a system where 40 million Americans with a job and a bank account who take the standard deduction can do their taxes in less than five minutes." — 6/12/08, Kaukauna, Wis.

Cut income taxes $1,000 for working families (Comments)
"Obama will cut income taxes by $1,000 for working families to offset the payroll tax they pay." — Obama's Blueprint for Change

Change child and dependent tax credit (Comments)
"Obama will reform the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit by making it refundable and allowing low-income families to receive up to a 50 percent credit for their child care expenses." — Obama's Blueprint for Change

Repeal the Bush tax cuts for the very rich (Comments)
"Obama is committed to repealing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans." — Obama's Blueprint for Change

If you know of other promises about taxes,

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