Here’s Facts on Tax Attacks

Ads on behalf of Bob Dole and President Clinton are dueling in key media markets across the nation on one of the bread-and-butter topics of U.S. politics--taxes. The GOP ad aired first; Clinton’s campaign responded within 24 hours.

* THE ADS: The GOP spot begins with a video of candidate Clinton saying in 1992 he would not raise taxes on the middle class and pledging “to give middle-class tax relief no matter what we do.” The announcer then intones: “Six months later, he gave us the largest tax increase in history. Higher income taxes, increased taxes on Social Security benefits. More payroll taxes. Under Clinton, the typical American family now pays over $1,500 more in federal taxes. . . .” The ad’s images include a newspaper headline reading: “Clinton seeks record tax boost.”

The Democratic spot begins with an announcer bemoaning “the same old politics--Dole attacks Clinton.” The ad then seeks to contrast the candidates’ records on taxes--Clinton is credited with cutting taxes “for millions of working families” and proposing tax credits for college tuition; Dole is said to have voted for a total of “$900 billion in higher taxes” over the course of his 35-year congressional career. The announcer notes that “Republicans called Dole the “tax collector for the welfare state” and charges that “Dole-Gingrich” tried to increase taxes on 8 million Americans. The ad’s images include a shot of Dole standing with House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and, against a backdrop of Dole’s face, bill numbers representing tax increases scrolling up the screen.

* THE ANALYSIS: Republican strategists have long believed that Clinton is vulnerable on the tax front, but the quick Democratic response shows the president won’t cede the issue without a fight. Both ads contain some questionable claims, as well as notable omissions.

Clinton did abandon his call for a middle-class tax cut and push through a large tax increase as part of his 1993 budget bill. But the claim that the increase was the “largest . . . in history” is dubious. Adjusted for inflation, the tax increase adopted in Ronald Reagan’s second year in office was larger than Clinton’s. George Bush’s 1990 tax hike was also bigger than Clinton’s in terms of net impact because Clinton’s bill also included several tax cuts. The claim that Clinton caused the average family’s federal tax bill to go up by $1,500 is also questionable. The Tax Foundation, cited as the source in the ad, says that of the $1,500, only $300 is attributable to tax increases. The rest of the rise stems from economic growth, which has increased the average family’s income and therefore its income taxes.

The Democratic ad attacking Dole for supporting $900 billion in higher taxes ignores the fact that many of the increases were pushed by Democratic administrations. The “tax collector for the welfare state” quote was coined by Gingrich more than a decade ago; he has since praised Dole for his commitment to cutting taxes. The accusation that Dole and Gingrich tried to increase taxes on some Americans refers to the Republican proposal to reduce the Earned Income Tax Credit, which reduces tax bills for low-income working families.