TPC Citations & Sources

2008 | 2007 |2006 | 2005

TPC research and analysis appears in hundreds of news articles each year. Below is a partial list, including the sources used in selected articles. Please note, article links cited below were verified on the day of publication and may change.

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October

• Obama courts Sarasota's voters , Herald Tribune  (October 31, 2008) By Jeremy Wallace.

  "Under Obama’s plan, a married couple with one income and two children making $1 million a year would pay $28,301 more in additional taxes, according to the Tax Policy Center, a division of the nonpartisan Brookings Institution. By contrast, McCain’s plan would include no increase for the same taxpayer."

• Fact Check: Would McCain tax health benefits for the first time ever? , CNN.com, The Political Ticker blog  (October 31, 2008).

  "Analysts note that McCain's plan could shift the amount of money an employer currently pays for a worker's health care from a tax-free benefit to part of the employee's salary. As such, it would increase the amount that would be taxed and, in some cases, bump the employee into a higher tax bracket. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center cites this example: A single worker making $75,000 and receiving $7,000 in healthcare premiums currently is in the 25 percent tax bracket. McCain's plan, the center says, would push that worker's taxable salary to $82,000, which is in the 28 percent tax bracket."

• Fact check: Would McCain 'only reward wealth'? , CNN.com, The Political Ticker blog  (October 31, 2008).

  "Sen. John McCain's tax plan offers across-the-board tax cuts for all income brackets, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. As the CNN Truth Squad has reported previously, McCain offers larger tax cuts to higher income brackets. Obama offers larger tax cuts for lower- and middle-income Americans than McCain does, and Obama vows to raise taxes on individuals making more than $200,000 and families making more than $250,000."

• Time to Pay the Price , Time  (October 31, 2008) By Justin Fox.

  "The Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the left-leaning Urban Institute and Brookings Institution that also has a reputation for getting its numbers right, estimates that Obama's tax proposals would increase the deficit by up to $3.5 trillion over the next decade, while McCain's would increase it by up to $8.6 trillion. That doesn't count possible spending cuts, but even McCain's proposed "freeze" wouldn't come anywhere near to closing that hole."

• Time to Pay the Price , Time  (October 31, 2008) By Justin Fox.

  "The Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the left-leaning Urban Institute and Brookings Institution that also has a reputation for getting its numbers right, estimates that Obama's tax proposals would increase the deficit by up to $3.5 trillion over the next decade, while McCain's would increase it by up to $8.6 trillion. That doesn't count possible spending cuts, but even McCain's proposed "freeze" wouldn't come anywhere near to closing that hole."

• Local tax increase proposals not an easy sale these days , USA Today  (October 31, 2008) By Judy Keen.

  "Kim Rueben, public-finance economist at the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, says the outlook could be grim for governments that "are scrambling for money" because their major revenue sources — income, sales and property taxes — are being hurt by the sagging economy."

• Letter: May reason prevail , The Star-Ledger  (October 31, 2008).

  "According to the Tax Policy Center, the following information was published in Parade Magazine Oct. 12 (page 6). If your household earns more than $100,000, i.e. you are in the top 16 percent of household income, you will pay more with Sen. Barack Obama's return-to-the-Clinton-era tax rates. If you are among the remaining 84 percent of Americans, you will pay more with Sen. John McCain's tax program."

• Sagging economy helps health-reform plans , MarketWatch  (October 31, 2008) By Kristen Gerencher.

  "McCain's plan will cost $185 billion in the first year while Obama's plan will run $86 billion initially, according to estimates from the Tax Policy Center, a nonprofit joint venture between the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution. The costs of the candidates' plans appear to even out over 10 years, with McCain's plan estimated at $1.3 trillion and Obama's at $1.6 trillion in the next decade."

• Obama's Spending Cuts , The Washington Post, The Fact Checker blog  (October 31, 2008) By Michael Dobbs.

  "Obama's claim is artfully worded. Note that, in contrast to his Republican rival, he does not claim that he will balance the federal budget after four years. That seems a virtually impossible task -- given the fact that he wants to extend most of the Bush tax cuts (for everybody making less than $250,000 a year) beyond their expiration date of 2010. The independent Tax Policy Center projects a budget deficit under Obama of $520 billion in 2013, compared to a presently projected deficit of $147 billion."

• Economic challenges confront rivals , BBC News (October 30, 2008) By Steve Schifferes.

  "According to the independent Tax Policy Center, both candidates' policies would increase the deficit further."

• Obama says he will sustain middle class , The News & Observer  (October 30, 2008) By Rob Christensen.

  "Obama said his plans call for giving tax breaks to 95 percent of Americans. (The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center has said that 81 percent of tax filers would see reduced taxes under Obama's plan)."

• Economists say Obama, McCain can't do much to close wealth gap , McClatchy Newspapers  (October 30, 2008) By David Lightman.

  "Taxes are not going to solve the income gap problem," said Roberton Williams, principal research associate at the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. "Nobody's going to stand for the kind of confiscatory taxes you would need."

• Investors Divided On President Despite Obama's Tax-Hike Plans , Investor's Business Daily  (October 30, 2008) By David Hogberg.

  "Len Burman, director of the Tax Policy Center at the liberal Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, said, "The investor class has the same level of Bush fatigue as the rest of the nation."

• The Great Tax Debate: Obama vs. McCain , RealClearPolitics.com  (October 30, 2008) By Blake D. Dvorak.

  "The refundable tax credits are supported by McCain himself," says Gale. "That's the neat feature of his health insurance plan, is a refundable tax credit. So for him to go after Obama on that issue makes no sense at all."

• Age shall not wither them , The Economist  (October 30, 2008).

  "The need to avoid future chaos has mostly been outweighed, on the campaign trail, by the need to get elected now. Amid financial mayhem, Mr Obama and Mr McCain are wisely addressing immediate problems for older voters. The tougher debate, however, is over how to care for them in the long term. “It is hard to get elected when you are promising pain,” explains Richard Johnson of the Urban Institute."

• Fact Check: Does Obama's 'tax calculator' show what an individual's tax cut would be? , CNN.com, Political Ticker blog  (October 30, 2008).

  "Roberton Williams, principal research associate for the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, said that, while his group has not checked all of the calculator's results and was not involved in creating it, the numbers it produces for individual tax cuts "look reasonable" given that they are for income estimates — not specific amounts — and that not all tax factors are included."

• Obama taxes will kill small business , The Mercury  (October 30, 2008) By Ralph Reiland.

  "In the small business sector, the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center reports that "several hundred thousand small business owners" have incomes high enough to be hit by Obama's proposed tax hikes on income, capital gains and dividends."

• Doonesbury , The Washington Post  (October 30, 2008) By Gary Trudeau.

  "Praise him who would cut taxes for 95% of the people."

• Why Obama isn't the man for the White House , San Francisco Chronicle  (October 30, 2008) By Debra J. Saunders.

  "A little more? Obama has proposed increasing the top tax rate to 39.6 percent from 35 percent. He also has talked about extending Social Security taxes on those with incomes above $250,000. The Tax Policy Center noted that if Obama carried through on the idea, which is not included in his official plan, "the proposal could raise effective tax rates on labor income for high earners above 52 percent (and more than 55 percent for residents of states with high income taxes such as California)."

• Obama's Primetime Ad Demonstrates Money Advantage Over McCain , Bloomberg News  (October 30, 2008) By Kristin Jensen and Julianna Goldman.

  "Obama said that he "offered spending cuts above and beyond their cost" to pay for his new programs. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, a Washington-based research group, said in a September report that both McCain and Obama "have proposed tax plans that would substantially increase the national debt over the next 10 years."

• Reality Check: Barack Obama Ad: Try This , KTVN  (October 29, 2008) By Tom Henkenius.

  "According to an analysis by the non-partisan Tax Policy Center... without any mortgage-based deduction, someone making $60,000 would see their tax liability decrease by between $361 and $869 under McCain."

• If Elected ... 2 Rivals’ Plans on Fiscal Issue Add to Deficits , The New York Times  (October 29, 2008) By Jackie Calmes.

  "Mr. McCain’s proposed tax cuts would mean about $1.5 trillion in lower revenue over his term, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. Extending the Bush income tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 beyond their scheduled 2010 expiration would account for more than a third of that total. He also would change the alternative minimum tax to hit fewer middle-income taxpayers, reduce corporate income taxes and accelerate business write-offs for equipment. The 10-year cost of Mr. McCain’s tax plan would be as much as $4.2 trillion, the center says."

• Obama's prime-time ad skips over budget realities , The Associated Press  (October 29, 2008) By Calvin Woodward.

  "The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, whose other findings have been quoted approvingly by the Obama campaign, says: "Both John McCain and Barack Obama have proposed tax plans that would substantially increase the national debt over the next 10 years." The analysis goes on to say: "Neither candidate's plan would significantly increase economic growth unless offset by spending cuts or tax increases that the campaigns have not specified."

• Health Rx Costs Hard To Target , Investor’s Business Daily  (October 29, 2008) By David Hogberg.

  "An analysis by the Brookings Institution and Urban Institute's Tax Policy Center shows that most Americans would pay lower taxes under McCain's plan, with only the top 1% of earners paying higher taxes by 2013. But an article in Health Affairs suggests that much of the tax savings would be eaten up by higher out-of-pocket costs."

• McCain, Obama and your tax bill , CNNMoney.com  (October 29, 2008) By Jeanne Sahadi.

  "The net effects? Under McCain's plan, every income group, on average, would see a tax cut. Upper-income earners would see the largest breaks both in dollars and as a percentage of their current after-tax income, according to the latest estimates from the Tax Policy Center."

• Focus on Fernley: Common sense says 'caveat emptor' , Reno Gazette Journal  (October 29, 2008) By Terry Choate.

  "He has the better health plan, to allow the 90% of Americans who are satisfied with their employer-based health insurance, to keep it and receive a $5,000 tax credit that for all but the top 5% of earners will put from $700-$1600 back into the taxpayer's pocket (according to the Tax Policy Center)."

• The real story on small business taxation under the Obama plan , The Examiner  (October 29, 2008) By Jay McDonough.

  "Using these three income-reporting categories, the Tax Policy Center has concluded that 1.9 percent of all individual filers reporting business income would see their taxes go up under Obama's plan. Of those who get more than 50 percent of their income from business ventures, 2.7 percent would pay higher taxes."

• Fact vs. fiction on candidates’ platforms , Daily Comet  (October 29, 2008) By Robert Zullo.

  "The difference is who they want the tax cuts to benefit, according to a report compiled by the Tax Policy Center, a collaboration between the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, nonprofits based in Washington, D.C."

• Spreading the Wealth, Obama-Style , The Wall Street Journal  (October 29, 2008) by James Freeman.

  "Those tempted to dismiss data from right-of-center Heritage might wish to check out the latest from the left-leaning Tax Policy Center, which has also forecast a massive increase in spending on Obama's "refundable tax credits."

• Candidates woo South Florida's small-business owners , Miami Herald  (October 29, 2008) by David Gelles.

  "But Obama counters his plan would raise taxes only on those households making more than $250,000 a year, which he says would not hurt many small businesses. Indeed, the tax hike would affect just 1.9 percent of small-business owners, according to the Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution."

• Editorial: Obama for president , Cape Cod Times  (October 29, 2008).

  "Under Obama, the wealthiest 1 percent of taxpayers, those making roughly $600,000 or more, would see their taxes go up on average by $93,709 in 2009, according to an analysis done by the Tax Policy Center, because Obama would begin implementing his tax changes even before the scheduled expiration of the Bush cuts."

• Battleground Nevada: Housing , Channel 4 KRNV  (October 28, 2008) By Linda Wieland.

  "The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center concedes Obama's universal mortgage credit could be an improvement, but only if it replaces existing housing subsidies."

• Fact Check: The second presidential debate , WJRT-TV  (October 28, 2008) By Mark Matthews.

  "The non-partisan Tax Policy Center found McCain's plan would give a net savings, at least in the short-term."

• Audit Roundup: Crime and Punishment , Columbia Journalism Review  (October 28, 2008) By Ryan Chittum.

  "Sen. McCain wants to permanently extend all 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts, raise the personal exemption for each dependent from $3,500 gradually over several years to $7,000 and keep the top tax rate at 35%, leaving “upper-income taxpayers” with “the most to gain under McCain’s plan,” according to a report by Deloitte Tax. The nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center estimates that the top 1% would see a tax cut of more than $125,000."

• McCain Vs. Obama: Economics , Forbes.com  (October 28, 2008) By David R. Henderson.

  "With such different tax proposals, you might expect substantially different effects on the federal government's revenues. You would be right. Unfortunately, the main organization that has tried to estimate the effects of these tax proposals on revenues, the Tax Policy Center, an organization run by the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, has done a fairly poor job. ."

• Projecting McCain , The Huffington Post  (October 28, 2008) By Aimee Liu.

  "- McCain accuses Obama of being a proponent of "big government," even though the Tax Policy Center finds that McCain's policies would likely add $1.5 trillion more to the federal deficit over 10 years than would Obama's."

• Editorial: The Candidates’ Health Plans , The New York Times  (October 28, 2008).

  "The Tax Policy Center estimates that the McCain plan would cost the federal government $1.3 trillion over 10 years, and the Obama plan $1.6 trillion. Using different assumptions, the Lewin Group, a consulting firm, estimates that the McCain plan would increase federal spending by $2.05 trillion over 10 years, compared with $1.17 trillion for the Obama package."

• Tax calculator examines possibilities , Detroit Free Press  (October 28, 2008) By Todd Spangler.

  "Gramlich built the assumptions used on the calculator -- which is also available at ENDCEfreep.com -- by relying on research done by the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, and the candidates' campaign promises."

• McCain, Obama Trade Blows Over Health Care , The Wall Street Journal, Washington Wire blog  (October 28, 2008) By Laura Meckler.

  "Obama has repeatedly hammered McCain for a plan to tax health care benefits for the first time. That’s true, but he is offering a tax credit in exchange that is more generous and would lead to a tax cut for the vast majority of Americans. In fact, the tax cut is so big that it would lead to $1.3 trillion in lost revenue over 10 years, according to the Tax Policy Center."

• Barack Obama Is No Socialist , U.S. News & World Report  (October 28, 2008) By John Aloysius Farrell.

  "According to an analysis by the wizards at the Tax Policy Center at the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, if Obama is elected, and his proposal is passed by Congress, 81 percent of American households will see their taxes go down, 8 percent will see no change, and the wealthiest 11 percent will pay higher tax bills."

• FactCheck: Right Change Is Wrong , Northland’s News Center  (October 28, 2008) By Lori Robertson.

  "He even looks good relative to McCain on the issue of the deficit: according to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, over a ten-year period, McCain’s tax policies would lead to $1.6 trillion more in debt than Obama."

• Candidates breezing into Florida during final days of election , Palm Beach Post  (October 28, 2008) by George Bennett.

  "Obama's tax proposals would reduce taxes for most Americans who make less than $200,000, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. With 38 percent of Americans already having no income tax liability, many of Obama's tax proposals come in the form of refundable tax credits, in which even people who pay no income taxes can receive checks from the government."

• Fact check: McCain tax cuts give $200 billion to corporations, $4 billion to oil companies? , CNN.com, Political Ticker blog  (October 28, 2008).

  "Roberton Williams, principal research associate for the Tax Policy Center, said the Obama campaign's calculation of $200 billion from McCain's proposed reduction in corporate taxes was an accurate conclusion."

• Obama Outmaneuvers McCain on Taxes , ABCNews.com, Political Radar blog  (October 28, 2008) By Teddy Davis, Rigel Anderson, and Arnab Datta.

  "Here's the deal on that top marginal rate: In 2008, it will affect those with taxable income (in other words, net income after deductions) of more than $357,700. (For 2009 income, the cut off will be $372,950.) About 1 percent of what could generously be considered small-business owners who file taxes as individuals would be in this tax bracket, according to the Tax Policy Center."

• McCain's Health Care Plan: 20 Million Americans Would Lose Coverage , The Huffington Post  (October 28, 2008) By Kathlyn Stone.

  "The Urban Institute/Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center (TPC) evaluated each candidate's plan and found that Sen. Barack Obama's would cover about 47 percent of the forecasted uninsured population over a 10-year period while the McCain plan would cover less than five percent."

• Election: Your health insurance at stake , CNNMoney.com  (October 28, 2008) By Tami Luhby.

  "Estimates vary, but the Tax Policy Center estimates that 20 million people would lose their employer-based coverage by 2018. Roughly the same number would gain insurance through other means. But, overall, McCain's plan would do little to reduce the number of uninsured."

• Obamanomics , Chicago Tribune, The Swamp blog  (October 27, 2008) By Frank James.

  "The Tax Policy Center, a research group run by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, has done the most detailed analysis of the Obama and McCain tax plans, and it has published a series of fascinating tables. For the bottom 80 percent of the population -- those households making $118,000 or less -- McCain's various tax cuts would mean a net savings of about $200 a year on average. Obama's proposals would bring $900 a year in savings. So for most people, Obama is the tax cutter in this campaign."

• Where McCain, Obama stand on the issues , The Associated Press  (October 27, 2008) By Calvin Woodward.

  "McCain: $2,500 refundable tax credit for individuals, $5,000 for families, to make health insurance more affordable. No mandate for universal coverage. Would no longer shield from income taxes those payments that businesses and their workers make toward employer-sponsored health insurance. Tax Policy Center estimates overall plan's cost at $1.3 trillion over 10 years."

• Editorial: Health care Rx: Mix up McCain's and Obama's plans , USA Today  (October 27, 2008).

  "McCain's plan would level the playing field between those who have subsidized plans from employers and those who buy insurance on their own. But it fails to make a serious stab at universal coverage. According to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, it would cover only about 5 million of the uninsured."

• How Obama's tax plans would 'spread the wealth around' , The Christian Science Monitor  (October 27, 2008) By David R. Francis.

  "As for the estate tax, Obama proposes excluding anyone leaving less than $3.5 million, and charging a tax of between 15 and 45 percent for amounts over that limit. His plan would preserve about 60 percent of current-law estate-tax revenue, according to the Tax Policy Center in Washington, weakening a little what it describes as "the most progressive component of the federal tax code."

• Recent tax cuts concentrate wealth for the rich , Statesman Journal  (October 27, 2008) By Ron Eachus.

  "The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center analysis found that households making between $37,595 and $66,354 — the middle of U.S. income distribution — would save an average of $1,118 in taxes under Obama's plan, $325 under McCain's. Households making between $226,918 and $603,402 would average $8,159 in tax cuts under McCain's plan and pay $121 more under Obama's."

• FactCheck: New packages, old lies , Rome News-Tribune  (October 27, 2008) By Viveca Novak and Jess Henig.

  "Obama proposes a number of tax cuts for lower- and moderate-income people. According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, by 2012 middle-income people (those in the middle one-fifth of all households) would get to keep an extra $2,200 per year in after-tax income on average under Obama than they do now. Under McCain, that figure would be $1,400. The top 1 percent of earners, on the other hand, would have to pay an average of $19,000 more in taxes under Obama, while under McCain they'd see their taxes cut by an average of $125,000."

• Municipal bonds: an investment with civic pride , The Christian Science Monitor  (October 27, 2008) By G. Jeffrey MacDonald.

  "If heartened by California's and New York City's successful offerings, more states and cities will be apt to issue short-term bonds as they cope with shrinking revenue streams, according to Kim Reuben, a public finance economist with the Urban Institute, a policy think tank in Washington, D.C. That could mean new opportunities for investors to help out in times of extraordinary need – and perhaps give their portfolios an overdue boost in the process. An investor who buys a muni through his or her home state usually receives an investment that's exempt from state as well as federal tax."

• The Europeanization of America , The Wall Street Journal  (October 27, 2008) By Pete Du Pont.

  "The Tax Policy Center estimates that these refundable tax credits would cost the government $648 billion over 10 years."

• Health-Coverage Plans Could Face Obstacles From Growing Budget Gap , The Wall Street Journal  (October 27, 2008) By Anna Wilde Mathews.

  "Outside analysts have come up with widely varying numbers. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center projected that in the first year of full implementation, about 1.3 million uninsured people would gain coverage through the McCain plan and about 18 million would under Sen. Obama's structure. Lewin Group, a consulting firm that is a unit of health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc., gave Sen. McCain credit for 21 million and Sen. Obama for 26.6 million people."

• Wealth Gap Is Focus Even as It Shrinks , The Wall Street Journal  (October 27, 2008) By Robert Frank.

  "So could a narrower wealth gap become the silver lining of the crisis? "Only if you don't like rich people," says Len Burman of the Tax Policy Center. "It's not like their share decline brings improvements for the middle class or the rest of America."

• McCain, Obama vastly different on economic plans , The Herald News  (October 26, 2008) By Hugh R. Morley.

  "McCain made a similar charge in the third presidential debate, when he highlighted the now infamous exchange in Ohio between Obama and "Joe the Plumber." The Democrat, however, says that 98 percent of small businesses make less than $250,000 in profits and would not be taxed. That claim is supported by Washington-based The Tax Policy Center, a non-partisan think tank."

• Looking at candidates’ tech plans , Centre Daily Times  (October 26, 2008) By Lisa M. Brownlee.

  "I have posted to my blog a chart presenting side-by-side, objective comparison of the candidates’ policies’ key topics, based on a recent report issued by Tax Policy Center, Urban Institute and Brookings Institute."

• John McCain's plan , The Capital  (October 26, 2008).

  "Many people are financial winners under John McCain's plan, at least in the short term, according to the Lewin Group and Tax Policy Center analyses. Among families making between $100,000 and $149,000 annually, for instance, 38 percent would save more than $2,500 a year on health costs, according to the Lewin Group. That level of savings also would be realized by 41.5 percent of families with incomes between $50,000 and $99,000."

• 'Socialism' alarm comes too late , The Post and Courrier  (October 26, 2008) By Frank Wooten.

  "Adam Lerrick, a professor of economics at Carnegie Mellon University and a visiting scholar at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute, spoke to the tipping point in an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal. He noted that in 2006, “220 million Americans were eligible to vote and 89 million —- 40 percent —-paid no income taxes.” Relying on conclusions from the Tax Policy Center in Washington, a joint venture of two liberal-leaning think tanks (Brookings and Urban Institute), Lerrick reported that tax credits proposed by Obama will remove 18 million more potential voters from the tax rolls, increasing the percentage of nonpayers to 49 percent."

• This spread is too thin to cover costs , The Atlanta Journal-Constitution  (October 26, 2008) By Jim Wooten.

  "With the economy in turmoil, and with the nation approaching the day it will have to shore up Social Security and Medicare, neither McCain nor Obama is "showing a lot of fiscal responsibility," contends Roberton Williams, a principal research associate at the Tax Policy Center."

• In race for president, economy passes war and health care as key issue , The Star-Ledger  (October 26, 2008) By Mark Mueller.

  "With the economy in turmoil, and with the nation approaching the day it will have to shore up Social Security and Medicare, neither McCain nor Obama is "showing a lot of fiscal responsibility," contends Roberton Williams, a principal research associate at the Tax Policy Center."

• Editorial: We Endorse Obama For President , Hartford Courant  (October 26, 2008).

  "He's not without flaws. Mr. Obama, like Mr. McCain, has proposed a tax plan that would significantly increase the national debt without much of a boost to economic growth, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center."

• Campaign check: Lies and half-truths outed , San Francisco Chronicle  (October 26, 2008) By Joe Garofoli.

  "According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, presuming Joe makes between $38,000 and $66,000, he'd pay $1,042 less under Obama's plan."

• House Democrats considering doing WHAT to 401(k)s? , Fast Company magazine, LifeWork blog  (October 25, 2008) By Anne Nolan.

  "As a result, economists at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center have found that 70% of tax subsidies for defined-contribution plans and IRAs go to those in the top 20% of the income distribution and almost half go to the top 10% (Burman et al. 2004)."

• Beyond big cities , Craig Daily Press  (October 25, 2008) By Collin Smith.

  "Obama proposes to pay for the health care reforms by returning income tax levels for the country’s top 1 percent to Clinton-era levels, which would raise an estimated $65 billion, according to the Ur­­ban/Brookings Tax Policy Center."

• Making dollars and sense of candidate's tax plans , Milwaukee Journal Sentinel  (October 25, 2008) By Craig Gilbert.

  "The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center has analyzed both candidates' plans and concluded they would have dramatically different effects across the income scale."

• New president must be 'nimble' on economy fixes , The Washington Times  (October 25, 2008) By Donald Lambro.

  "They were written before the financial meltdown of the last six to eight months, and I think it is going to be hard to enact these sets of plans in the form they've proposed," said economist William G. Gale, vice president of the Brookings Institution and director of its Economic Studies Program."

• Election may decide tax code winners, losers , The Cincinnati Enquirer  (October 25, 2008) By James Pilcher.

  "For example, someone making about $67,000 a year would see a $325 annual tax cut under McCain's plan and $1,200 a year under Obama's plan, according to an analysis by The Tax Policy Center, a Washington-based nonpartisan effort by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute."

• Small-business owners compare tax policies of McCain, Obama , The Times-Tribune  (October 25, 2008) By Charles Schillnger.

  "Mr. Obama’s plan to redistribute wealth is not new, said Eric Toder, of the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. "His plan is raising income in one area and lowering income elsewhere. That isn’t new," Mr. Toder said. “We have a progressive tax system. He would make it a little more progressive." In fact, Mr. Obama’s plan would redistribute wealth to a lesser extent than under President Bill Clinton, Mr. Toder said."

• The Election Choice: Taxes , The Wall Street Journal  (October 25, 2008) By Brian M. Carney.

  "According to the Tax Policy Center, Mr. Obama's tax credits would increase the share of Americans who pay no income tax to 48% from an estimated 38% this year."

• Does Anyone Care About a Trillion Dollar Deficit? , Time  (October 25, 2008) By Mark Kukis.

  "Despite Walker's best efforts, voter resistance to deficit spending may be on the wane. "We're going to see an evaporation of concern about fiscal restraint simply because the threat of an economic collapse is so great," said Robert Reischauer, president of the Urban Institute. "Policymakers are not going to adhere to the restraint that they know in their heads we need but in their hearts can't bring about."

• Editorial: Obama vs. His Advisers , The Wall Street Journal  (October 25, 2008).

  "When President Bush unveiled a health reform similar to Mr. McCain's in 2007, Mr. Furman co-authored a Tax Policy Center paper that called it "innovative and a step in the right direction." As recently as May, he published a long article in Health Affairs on the possibilities of health-care tax reform."

• Bailout Expands to Insurers , The Washington Post  (October 25, 2008) By David Cho, Binyamin Appelbaum and Zachary A. Goldfarb.

  "The big problem is whether the resources they've got available are sufficient as they expand to more and more sectors," said Roberton Williams, a budget expert at the Urban Institute. "Now that they're going to expand to certain insurance institutions, is there enough money to cover that? And what would be the next domino to fall?"

• John McCain and Barack Obama Tax Policy Proposals Examined , The Examiner  (October 24, 2008) By Karen Harper.

  "John McCain and Barack Obama have both claimed that their tax policy proposals would help the American people.  The Tax Policy Center has broken down the numbers to reveal how both tax proposals would stack up in real time for the years 2009 and 2012."

• Obama, McCain have different plans for Bush's tax cuts , Wisconsin State Journal  (October 24, 2008) By Jason Stein.

  "The Tax Policy Center, a joint project of two think tanks in Washington, D.C., the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, analyzed the policies of both candidates last month."

• Obama Touts Tax Savings With Online Calculator , National Journal, Ad Spotlight blog  (October 24, 2008) By Mary Gilbert.

  "The independent Tax Policy Center says Obama offers middle-class tax cuts three times as big as McCain’s," the announcer says, adding that "1.5 million have tried it. You should too."

• McCain, Obama launch new TV ads , The Boston Globe, Political Intelligence blog  (October 24, 2008).

  "The independent Tax Policy Center says Obama offers middle class tax cuts three times as big as McCain’s. Even leading conservatives say Obama’s plan is better for the middle class. One point five million have tried it. You should too."

• Obama Ad Plays Up Tax Calculator , MSNBC, First Read blog  (October 24, 2008) By Mark Murray.

  "The independent Tax Policy Center says Obama offers middle class tax cuts three times as big as McCain’s."

• McCain strikes chord with area businesses , The News-Journal  (October 24, 2008) By James Miller.

  "His campaign cites a 2007 Tax Policy Center report it says shows that fewer than 2 percent of individual tax filers who report small-business income fall into the top two tax brackets."

• Huge price tag may thwart tax cut plans , MSNBC.com (October 24, 2008) By John W. Schoen.

  "The two candidates essentially take the philosophy their parties have taken for years,” said Roberton Williams, co-author of a widely cited study analyzing both proposals by the centrist Tax Policy Center, an independent tax research group."

• New Life for the Death Tax , The New York Times (October 24, 2008) By Floyd Norris.

  "If Congress takes no action in 2009, the estate tax will fall to zero in 2010, and then bounce back to 2001 levels in 2011. That would create what the Tax Policy Center report, written by Leonard E. Burman, Katherine Lim and Jeffrey Rohaly, delicately calls “grotesque tax policy initiatives.” What they mean is that there would be a great temptation to do in dear old (very rich) dad before midnight on Dec. 31, 2010."

• How's Obama Going to Raise $4.3 Trillion? , The Wall Street Journal (October 24, 2008) By Alan Reynolds.

  "The new president, whoever he is, will start out facing a budget deficit of at least $1 trillion, possibly much more. Sen. Obama has nonetheless promised to devote another $1.32 trillion over the next 10 years to several new or expanded refundable tax credits and a special exemption for seniors, according to the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution's Tax Policy Center (TPC). He calls this a "middle-class tax cut," while suggesting the middle class includes 95% of those who work."

• Neither Candidate’s Tax Plan ‘Pro-Growth’ , The Washington Independent (October 24, 2008) By Matthew DeLong.

  "You go to the independent, quote, Tax Policy Center, a group I know very well, and I encourage people to go there. They’ll say, ‘John McCain’s [tax] plan is better for growth.’ What does this economy need? It needs to grow."

• The Election Choice: Health Care , The Wall Street Journal (October 24, 2008) By Joseph Rago.

  "According to the Tax Policy Center, the McCain plan will cost $1.3 trillion over the next decade (vs. $1.6 trillion for Mr. Obama's), while the average household will be better off by $1,241 in 2009."

• Obama Wants Social Security to Be a Welfare Plan , The Wall Street Journal (October 24, 2008) By Andrew G. Biggs.

  "Under the plan, which he claims would cut taxes for 95% of Americans, provides an income tax credit worth 6.2% of earnings up to $8,000, for a maximum credit of $500 per worker or $1,000 per couple. The 6.2% figure is important, because it matches the employee share of the Social Security payroll tax. Because around a third of Americans currently pay no income taxes -- a fraction that would rise to almost half under Mr. Obama's plan, according to the Tax Policy Center -- Mr. Obama's tax credits would be refundable, meaning you could collect the credit even if you paid no income taxes."

• Evil is Nichols; playing homeless , The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (October 24, 2008) By Jim Wooten.
  

  "Hmmmm. The American Enterprise Institute is labeled “conservative,” which it is. But the Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of two left-of-center think tanks, Brookings Institution and Urban Institute, is described only as “nonpartisan."

• Obama Vs. McCain: Whose Tax Plan Is Best For You?WLWT.com (October 23, 2008).
  

  "But which wage earners benefit most from each candidate’s tax plan? According to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center in Washington, D.C., it depends on how much they earn."

• McCain, Obama Are `Disingenuous at Best' in Tax Duels (Update1)Bloomberg News (October 23, 2008) By Matthew Benjamin and Ryan J. Donmoyer.
  

  "Obama, an Illinois senator, says he has proposed ``a tax cut for 95 percent of working families in America.'' The ``working'' caveat turns out to be crucial: The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimates that, including tax filers with no wages or business income, 81 percent would get a tax cut."

• Editorial: Presidential IssuesNews-Leader (October 23, 2008).
  

  "In 2009, an estimated 457,000 individuals in the current top tax bracket of 35 percent will report business income on their tax returns, according to Len Burman, director of the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center."

• Letter: Beware of Obama tax planGreen Bay Press-Gazette  (October 23, 2008) By Eileen Burnett.
  

  "The According to the Tax Policy Center, Obama's plan will increase refundable tax credits from $647 billion to $1.054 trillion. The tax welfare he proposes will dramatically exceed the cost of actual welfare."

• Biden links McCain, Bush at North Carolina rallyMiami Herald (October 23, 2008) By Jim Morrill.
  

  "The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center has estimated his proposal would save $1,118 for the middle 20 percent of taxpayers while McCain's would save them $325."

• FactCheck: Obama's False Medicare Claim Northland’s News Center  (October 23, 2008) By Brooks Jackson.
  

  "The estimate comes not from McCain, but from the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. McCain and Holtz-Eakin haven't disputed that figure, but they haven't endorsed it either."

• "Joe The Plumber" Resonates OnlineWired magazine, Threat Level blog (October 23, 2008) By Sarah Lai Stirland.
  

  "You can see the crowd-sourced, feel-good attack ad below. For more analysis of the two candidates' plans, take a look at the non-partisan Tax Policy Center's examination here."

• Health-Care Fixes: Plan vs. PlanThe Wall Street Journal (October 23, 2008) By Anna Wilde Mathews.
  

  "Here are just two takes on how the candidates' plans might affect different groups of people. Click on the image above for a projection by the Lewin Group. Click here for a projection by the Tax Policy Center."

• Candidates' competing prescriptions for health careBellville News-Democrat (October 23, 2008) By Robert Moffit.
  

  "Some critics imply his proposal to pay for the tax credit by taxing health benefits amounts to a tax increase. In truth, however, this approach would yield a major tax cut to the vast majority of Americans, particularly for the middle class. Analysts at the Urban Institute estimate the change in tax treatment would leave the typical family roughly $1,200 ahead annually."

• Obama and McCain in denial about deficits, economists say , Los Angeles Times(October 23, 2008) By Stephen Braun.
  

  "In the face of those projections, determination to rein in deficit spending will not be enough, said Rudolph G. Penner, who was director of the CBO in the mid-1980s. "The promises of both candidates are in serious trouble," said Penner, who is with the centrist Urban Institute, a nonpartisan research center on social and economic policy."

• What the McCain and Obama Health Plans Mean for Your Wallet , The Wall Street Journal, Health blog(October 23, 2008) By Jacob Goldstein.
  

  "What happens in the long term is anyone’s guess. The Tax Policy Center, which is affiliated with the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, projected the Obama plan would cost $1.6 trillion over 10 years, and the McCain plan would cost $1.3 trillion. Lewin Group had different figures putting the cost at $2.1 trillion for McCain’s plan and $1.2 trillion for Obama."

• Palin's $150,000 Makeover May Raise Her Tax Bill (Update2) , Bloomberg News (October 23, 2008) By Ryan J. Donmoyer.
  

  "Roberton Williams, principal research associate at the Tax Policy Center, a Washington research group, said the campaign might be able to call the clothing a uniform, which wouldn't be taxable to Palin if the RNC can make the case she's an employee and only uses the clothing for business purposes. "If she were clearly an employee, it would be fine," Williams said. "There is the question of whether or not she is an employee."

• Details of tax-credit debate can get lost in the slogans , The Boston Globe (October 22, 2008) By Michael Kranish.
  

  "At least 27 million American owe no income tax but do pay the 7.65 percent payroll tax, with another 7.65 percent paid by employers. In addition, more than half of all workers pay more in payroll taxes than in income taxes, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center."

• Letter: Obama’s tax plan best for most , West Liberty Index(October 22, 2008) By Lori Strommer Pace.
  

  "According to the Tax Policy Center, 60 percent of taxpayers (those with household incomes up to $66,354) will see a tax savings ranging from $560 to $1000 with Barack Obama’s tax plan (compared to savings ranging from $19 to $319 for the same group under McCain’s plan)."

• Has Joe fixed McCain's leaky support? , Star Tribune(October 22, 2008) By Marc Caputo.
  

  "McCain invoked Wurzelbacher's name repeatedly during last week's debate in an effort to say that small businesses would see a tax increase under Obama -- though a Tax Policy Center analysis said, "The vast majority of small businesses would not be affected by Obama's income tax" increase that targets about 4.6 percent of all businesses in the top two income-bracket tiers."

• Obama and the Tax Tipping Point , The Wall Street Journal(October 22, 2008) By Adam Lerrick.
  

  "In 2006, the latest year for which we have Census data, 220 million Americans were eligible to vote and 89 million -- 40% -- paid no income taxes. According to the Tax Policy Center (a joint venture of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute), this will jump to 49% when Mr. Obama's cash credits remove 18 million more voters from the tax rolls. What's more, there are an additional 24 million taxpayers (11% of the electorate) who will pay a minimal amount of income taxes -- less than 5% of their income and less than $1,000 annually."

• Obama Scares Seniors , The Washington Post, The Fact Checker blog(October 22, 2008) By Michael Dobbs.
  

  "The Democrat-leaning thinktank starts with the assumption that McCain will need to save around $1.3 trillion over 10 years in order to pay for his health care plan. (This is based on an analysis by the independent Tax Policy Center, available here, which has not been challenged by the McCain campaign.) The Arizona senator has promised to give Americans a $2,500 refundable tax credit to be spent on health care in exchange for taxing the health benefits they receive from their employer."

• Great Society Redux? , National Review Online (October 22, 2008) By James C. Capretta.
  

  "Senator Obama would pay for this expansion of government with a massive tax increase. He is promising to raise the top marginal income-tax rate to nearly 40 percent. He wants to increase payroll taxes on high-income earners as well to pay for an unreformed Social Security program that will have fewer workers paying the benefits of growing numbers of baby-boomer retirees. And, according to an analysis from the independent Tax Policy Center, his plan depends on somehow finding nearly $1 trillion in revenue over ten years from as-yet-unspecified sources."

• McCain Vs. Obama: Double-Digit Lead , MSNBC.com, First Read blog (October 22, 2008) By Jim Siegel.
  

  "In addition, more than half of all workers pay more in payroll taxes than in income taxes, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center."

• What's the real story? McCain's tax-hike charge , The Columbus Dispatch (October 22, 2008) By Jim Siegel.
  

  "The question, in the abstract, is whether not doing something is equivalent to doing the opposite," said Bob Williams, senior research associate at the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center in Washington. "If I don't vote for a tax cut, am I equivalently voting for a tax increase? But the reverse would ask if I don't vote for a tax increase, am I voting for a tax cut? My guess is that people arguing the former would not agree with the latter."

• Editorial: Tax reality vs. fantasy , St. Petersburg Times (October 22, 2008).
  

  "According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, McCain's tax proposals would result in tax revenues declining by $4.2-trillion over the next 10 years, with the benefits flowing primarily to "those with very high incomes."

• Analyst: Obama plan isn't "socialism," it's traditional progressive taxation , The Seattle Times (October 21, 2008) By David Lightman and William Douglas.
  

  "Critics point to Obama's plan to raise the top two tax rates on the wealthy as clear evidence of his socialist bent. However, Len Burman, the director of the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, said that while Obama "would make the tax system more progressive overall, it would not be a radical shift."

• Firefighters Whack McCain for Taxing Benefits , ABCNews.com, Political Radar blog(October 21, 2008) By Teddy Davis and Hope Ditto.
  

  "At first, most Americans would be better off with the tax credit from a strictly tax standpoint, according to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center. McCain's plan would also provide subsidies to people who do not currently get subsidized because they do not have employer-provided health care but rather purchase it on their own. Lastly, the McCain tax credit - since it is flat - changes the current situation in which the largest tax subsidy flows to workers with the highest income and the most generous health plans."

• On Health Plans, the Numbers Fly , The New York Times(October 21, 2008) By Kevin Sack.
  

  "Last week, the Lewin Group, a consulting firm, projected the cost to taxpayers at $1.17 trillion over 10 years. That was about 27 percent lower than the $1.6 trillion estimated by the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution. And it bore little similarity to a $6 trillion estimate — using a broader measurement — put forth by HSI Network, a Minnesota consulting group that was paid $50,000 by the McCain campaign to assess both plans."

• Health care plans: Obama vs. McCain , USA Today(October 21, 2008) By Julie Appleby.
  

  "Premium savings may be possible over time if all of Obama's ideas are "aggressively" pursued, says an analysis by the Urban Institute, a think tank."

• Some Follow-Up, Please , The Wall Street Journal(October 21, 2008) By James Taranto.
  

  "Obama said he was talking about "working Americans," and the figure he cited--95 percent--is essentially correct, according to the Tax Policy Center, which calculated the figures."

• Bailout seen hitting Obama, McCain health plans , The Washington Post (October 21, 2008) By Julie Steenhuysen.
  

  "Researchers at the Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center project McCain's plan would cost $1.3 trillion over 10 years and Obama's would cost $1.6 trillion."

• Health Care Plan Debate Heats Up, But Whose Costs More? , CNBC.com(October 21, 2008) By Bertha Coombs.
  

  "Tax Policy Center has calculated that the refundable tax credit and John McCain's overall health plan will increase the deficit by $1.3 trillion over the next ten years, while Barack Obama's plan providing subsidized access through an insurance exchange will boost the deficit by roughly $1.6 trillion in the next decade."

• Colorado students use texting to compare McCain, Obama tax burdens , The Colorado Independent (October 21, 2008) By Ernest Luning.
  

  "The students stress on their Web site that it’s intended to educate voters — they don’t endorse either candidate or either candidate’s tax plan — and note the calculations are based on analysis by the non-partisan Tax Policy Center."

• Ads push McCain, Bush link , News-Leader  (October 21, 2008) By Maureen Groppe.
  

  "As for the tax cut issue mentioned in the ad, federal income taxes fell for all income levels under Bush. McCain's tax proposal would cut taxes across the board, giving the biggest cuts to the highest-income households, according to the Tax Policy Center. Obama's tax plan would give larger cuts to low and moderate-income households while raising taxes on high-income taxpayers."

• John McCain, Barack Obama have differing approaches to health care issues , The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Openers blog (October 21, 2008) By Mary Vanac.
  

  "After 10 years: An additional 34 million people could have insurance, according to the Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center analysis."

• Use of Refundable Tax Credits Has Grown in Recent Years , The Wall Street Journal (October 21, 2008) By Nick Timiraos.
  

  "Currently, 62% of households pay income taxes, down from 82% in 1984. Some 57 million tax filers don't pay any federal income taxes, according to the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan Washington think tank."

• Obama Tweaks Tax Plan to Rebut McCain , ABCNews.com, Political radar blog (October 21, 2008) By Teddy Davis, Hope Ditto, Arnab Datta, and Ferdous Alfaruque.
  

  "They might have been thinking this all along," said Roberton Williams, a principal research associate at the non-partisan Tax Policy Center. "But anytime you clarify something in a way that protects you, you are bound to draw criticism from your opponent."

• Estimating Joe the Plumber's tax bill , Houston Chronicle (October 21, 2008) By Angie Drobnic Holan.
  

  "In an effort to focus more effectively on small business owners, the Tax Policy Center did an additional analysis where they looked at people who reported business income that accounted for at least 50 percent of their income. This means people who derive a significant living off their business income."

• An assessment of McCain's and Obama's health insurance proposals , Los Angeles Times (October 21, 2008) By Michael A. Hiltzik, Lisa Girion.
  

  "At first, the credit would generously cover employee costs, according to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a think tank sponsored by the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution."

• Americans Shouldn’t Worry About the Bailout… , The New York Times, Economix blog (October 20, 2008) By Catherine Rampell.
  

  "Roberton Williams, the principal research associate at the Tax Policy Center, said that Mr. Moon’s assertion struck him as a “reasonable statement” though he also had not run the numbers. His organization, a joint venture of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, has done a more comprehensive calculation of what portion of Americans will have zero federal tax liability in 2009. According to the center’s model, which estimates how many tax units will have zero federal tax liability (as measured by only the net of income, payroll and corporate taxes), 27.9 percent of tax units will pay no federal taxes. Mr. Williams said the center has not crunched historical values for comparison."

• FactCheck: Obama's "Welfare" , KCRG-TV (October 20, 2008) By Brooks Jackson.
  

  "But while experts at the Congressional Budget Office and the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center tally this reduced income as "tax increases" for purposes of analyzing how proposed tax policies would affect different groups, it would not show up as an increased tax bill for any individual taxpayer, whatever their age."

• Editorial: We recommend …U.S. President: John McCain , Brandenton Herald (October 20, 2008)
  

  "While Obama criticized the plan as a tax hike, an analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan research group, found eligible households would get an average savings of $1,241 next year."

• Palin criticizes Obama on taxes at Colorado rally , The Associated Press (October 20, 2008) By Calvin Woodward.
  

  "Nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimates tax break of $325 for the middle 20 percent of taxpayers — those making $37,600 to $66,400."

• The analyses , The Baltimore Sun (October 20, 2008).
  

  "The Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, estimates that over 10 years, McCain's plan would cost the federal budget $1.3 trillion, while Obama's plan would cost $1.6 trillion. Go to taxpolicycenter.org."

• Where McCain, Obama stand on the issues , The Associated Press (October 20, 2008) By Kristen Wyatt.
  

  "Obama said he was talking about "working Americans," and the figure he cited — 95 percent — is essentially correct, according to the Tax Policy Center, which calculated the figures."

• Fighting for Joe the Plumber , The Washington Post, The Fact Checker blog (October 20, 2008) By KMichael Dobbs.
  

  "Right now, however, "Joe the Plumber" is nowhere near the $250,000 and above tax bracket. The company that he has talked about taking over reported gross sales of around $100,000. By these figures, "Joe the Plumber" is making less than $250,000 a year, and is probably making around $50,000. According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, this puts him on track for a tax cut of around $1,042 under the Obama plan and around $319 under the McCain plan."

• Campaign issues that affect young voters , Chicago Tribune (October 19, 2008) By Carolyn Bigda.
  

  "The non-partisan Tax Policy Center has crunched numbers based on the candidates' proposals. Here's what a single taxpayer making $75,000 or less could expect."

• Their tax plans and you , The Daily Home (October 19, 2008) By Katherine Poythress .
  

  "In Talladega County, however, which has a median family income of $48,942 according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Obama plan could in theory better serve their pocketbooks than McCain’s could. According to statistics from the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, McCain proposes to reduce taxes for that income bracket by $319. Obama, on the other hand, claims he would offer those families a tax savings of $1,042."

• Editorial: For President , The Philadelphia Inquirer (October 19, 2008).
  

  "One of the most persistent deceptions in this campaign is McCain's claim that Obama proposes "painful tax increases on working American families." Obama would raise income taxes on households earning more than $250,000 per year. Most households - 81 percent - would receive a tax cut. The nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center has calculated that households earning between $37,595 and $66,354 a year would save $1,118 on their taxes annually under Obama's plan. McCain's proposal would save those same families, on average, $325."

• Health care costly, regardless of blueprint , The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (October 19, 2008) By Andy Miller.
  

  "According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, the Obama plan would cost $1.6 trillion over 10 years and would reduce the number of uninsured by 34 million. The McCain plan would cost $1.3 trillion and would reduce the uninsured by a maximum of 5 million, the center said."

• McCain remarks on Obama 'socialism' viewed as a stretch , The Dallas Morning News (October 19, 2008) By Dave Michaels and Todd J. Gillman.
  

  "Mr. Obama's plan would "greatly increase" health insurance coverage, cutting the percentage of uninsured adults from 17 to 6, according to the Tax Policy Center."

• Candidates' tax-cut rhetoric swamps voters , The Seattle Times (October 19, 2008).
  

  "According to a separate study by the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the left-leaning Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, the conclusions of which are not disputed by the McCain campaign, a family with income of $38,000 to $66,000 would qualify in 2009 for a tax savings of $319 under McCain's proposal, compared with $1,042 under Obama's."

• Bailout to swell debt, hit taxpayers , The Boston Globe (October 19, 2008) By Robert Gavin.
  

  "When you start looking at the trajectory of the deficit and the debt, whoever is elected the next president will be handcuffed," said Rudolph Penner, senior fellow at the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank. "Taxes almost certainly have to go up at some point."

• No Simple Answers for Small Business , The Wall Street Journal (October 18, 2008) By Amy Schatz.
  

  "Fewer than 2% of small-business owners take home more than $250,000 a year, according to the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan joint venture of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution. Sen. Obama's plan raises marginal income tax rates only on individuals making $200,000 or more, and families making $250,000. Tax reductions can occur for people below those income levels via various tax credits. About 75% of small-business owners report business income as individual income, according to the Tax Policy Center."

• Spending Surge Pushing Deficit Toward $1 Trillion , The Washington Post (October 18, 2008) By Lori Montgomery and Dan Eggen.
  

  "We're going to make Ronald Reagan look like a piker in terms of deficit creation, I think," said Rudolph Penner, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute who served as director of the Congressional Budget Office during the Reagan administration."

• Don't misrepresent Obama on tax plans , The Post Standard (October 18, 2008) By William Spizuoco.
  

  "According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, Sen. Obama proposes to retain the current 10 percent, 25 percent and 28 percent tax brackets, and allow the current 33 percent and 35 percent brackets to rise to the pre-Bush-tax-cut rates of 36 percent and 39.5 percent, respectively."

• Obama's claim of benefit cuts suspect , The Associated Press (October 18, 2008) By Kevin Freking.
  

  "McCain wants to provide tax credits to encourage Americans to purchase private health insurance. To pay for it, he has proposed requiring workers to pay income taxes on the health benefits they now receive tax-free from their employers. The Tax Policy Center has projected that the change would actually be a tax cut for most people and would reduce federal revenues by an estimated $1.3 trillion over 10 years."

• Letter: The Tax Cuts for 95% of Americans Provoke Skepticism , The Wall Street Journal (October 18, 2008) By Steve Franks.
  

  "The Obama proposal is up front and forthright but you obfuscate by quoting "statistics" from the biased Tax Foundation and the Tax Policy Center. The main thrust of Sen. Obama's approach is that anyone making $250,000 or better will be taxed, and well they should be. This will probably affect most of your readers, but it is high time that this group starts paying for the reckless spending by their big business hero, George Bush."

• Democrats' Prospects for Gains in House Rise: Campaign Notebook , Bloomberg News (October 18, 2008) By Joe Sobczyk and Laura Litvan.
  

  "According to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a non-partisan research organization in Washington, 92.7 percent of the tax savings from McCain's plan to reduce the tax rate on capital gains and dividends to 7.5 percent would go to households earning more than $200,000 a year. Those who earn more than $1 million a year would get 66.2 percent of the savings, the Tax Policy Center said."

• Unions Mislead on Health Care , Newsweek (October 17, 2008) By Lori Robertson.
  

  "State Taxes: The study also assumes all workers will have to pay added state income taxes on the value of health benefits, which may or may not turn out to be the case. McCain does not specifically require that. And while many states do automatically accept federal rules about what income is taxable and what isn't, Leonard Burman, president of the Tax Policy Center, tells us that states are likely to vary in how they would treat such a major change in the federal rules. They could offer a deduction or credit of their own."

• Obama Whopper On McCain Health Care Plan , CBSNews.com (October 17, 2008) By Wyatt Andrews.
  

  "Independent analysts have long argued those rebates will cost the Treasury far more than what McCain raises, especially if the plan is accepted by the 24 million people the McCain camp claims. (The Tax Policy Center estimated a $1.3 trillion deficit over ten years)."

• McCain's Tax Plans Also Redistribute Wealth , The Huffington Post (October 17, 2008) By Edward Rotchford.
  

  "A recent study by the Tax Policy Center shows that a hard working individual with a total income of $19,000 would see a $100 savings under McCain's plan compared to a $900 savings under Obama's plan. So what happens to that $800 under McCain's plan? All of that money, plus some, instead goes to the family that makes $225,000, where McCain's plan gives them $4,400 in tax breaks instead of the $2,800 in tax breaks that Obama's plan does."

• Prescription for health care reform , The Denver Post (October 17, 2008) By Alicia Caldwell.
  

  "Independent analyses by the Tax Policy Center puts the cost for the McCain plan at $1.3 trillion over 10 years and $1.6 trillion over the same time frame for the Obama plan."

• McCain tax cuts vs. Obama tax cuts , United Press International (October 17, 2008).
  

  "The non-partisan Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of Washington's Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, estimates Obama's tax package would add $3.5 trillion to the total federal budget deficit while McCain's would add $5 trillion."

• Why Do We Tax Corporations? , Slate.com (October 17, 2008) By Christopher Beam.
  

  "Explainer thanks Daniel Mitchell of the Cato Institute, Joel Slemrod of the University of Michigan, and Robert Williams of the Urban Institute."

• Real Deal on ‘Joe the Plumber’ Reveals New Slant , The New York Times (October 17, 2008) By Larry Rohter.
  

  "Both, in fact, would probably be eligible for a tax cut, said Bob Williams, senior research associate at the independent, nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, though the cut would probably be greater under Mr. McCain’s tax plan than Mr. Obama’s."

• Tax Advice for ‘Joe the Plumber’ , The New York Times, Economix blog (October 17, 2008) By Catherine Rampell.
  

  "This is because most small businesses earn much less in profit. In 2009 about 35 million tax returns will report some income from small businesses, according to Roberton Williams, principal research associate at the non-partisan Tax Policy Center. Of these only about 660,000 tax units — or 1.9 percent — would see an increase under Senator Obama’s tax proposal."

• Joe the plumber's story has some cracks , Chicago Tribune (October 17, 2008) By James Oliphant.
  

  "People want to make small business the poster boy for this tax increase," said Eric Toder of the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, which has studied both candidates' tax plans. "It obviously resonates."

• McCain vs. Obama: The story on taxes , USA Today (October 17, 2008) By Sandra Block.
  

  "McCain has pledged to eliminate earmarks and wasteful spending, while Obama has targeted tax loopholes. But neither candidate has offered a realistic plan to pay for their tax proposals, says Leonard Burman, director of the Tax Policy Center."

• Both Campaigns Distorting Facts on Money Matters , The Washington Post (October 16, 2008) By Michael Dobbs.
  

  "The Obama campaign, meanwhile, has repeatedly mischaracterized the McCain health-care plan as "the largest middle-class tax increase in history," in the phrase of a recent Obama television ad. While it is true that McCain wants to tax employer-provided health insurance for the first time, he is also promising a tax credit of between $2,500 and $5,000 to encourage Americans to buy their own health insurance. According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, the tax credit will more than offset the higher tax for most Americans over the next decade."

• Plumber From Ohio Is Thrust Into Spotlight , The New York Times (October 16, 2008) By Larry Rohter.
  

  "Of these, according to a calculation by the independent, non-partisan Tax Policy Center, fewer than 700,000 taxpayers would have to pay higher taxes under Mr. Obama’s plan. But even some of these are not small-business owners in the traditional sense; they include lawyers, accountants and investors in real estate, all of them with incomes that put them in the top tax brackets."

• Fact check: Context of key debate claims , USA Today (October 16, 2008) By Richard Wolf and Ken Dilanian.
  

  "The facts: The non-partisan Tax Policy Center shows that is the case for the first year of Obama's plan, but not over the long haul, and only for a narrow slice of the "middle class" — those making between $37,595 and $66,354. The group says Obama's plan would save those families $1,042 in the first year, compared to McCain's $319. In later years, the difference is not nearly as great."

• Fact check: Plumber Joe's taxes , CNNMoney.com (October 16, 2008) by Stacy Cowley.
  

  "The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center found that under Obama's approach the wealthiest 1 percent of taxpayers would see their taxes go up on average by $93,709 in 2009, For McCain, those same wealthy taxpayers would see an average reduction of $48,860."

• We Know More About Obama's NCAA Brackets Than His Tax Plan Brackets , The Campaign Spot (October 16, 2008) by Jim Geraghty.
  

  "In its analysis, the Tax Policy Center (a venture of the left-leaning Brookings Institution and Urban Institute), sides with the Obama campaign by categorizing as "tax cuts" government payments such as the $1,000 to couples, $4,000 for college tuition, and 10% payment to offset mortgage interest expenses..."

• Small business owner’s guide to the election , MSNBC.com (October 16, 2008) by Christopher Wills.
  

  "That's because the lion's share of taxable income comes from a small number of wealthy businesses. Out of 34.7 million filers with business income on Schedules C, E or F, 479,000 filers fall into the top two brackets, according to an analysis of projected 2009 filings by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center."

• Rivals spar in final debate , The Denver Post (October 16, 2008) by Kent Hoover.
  

  "Only 2 percent of taxpayers with small business income will pay taxes at the two highest rates in 2009, according to the Tax Policy Center."

• Checking the facts , The Boston Globe (October 16, 2008).
  

  "Fact check: The assertion that "millions" of small-business owners would pay higher taxes under Obama's plan is "untrue," according to Factcheck.org, a fact-checking service sponsored by the Annenberg School of Public Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. The independent Tax Policy Center, meanwhile, has concluded that several hundred thousand small-business owners, "at most," would pay higher taxes under Obama's plan."

• Rivals' jabs get more combative , Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (October 16, 2008) by Craig Gilbert.
  

  "According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, both men would reduce overall taxes. McCain's proposed cuts total $4.2 trillion over 10 years, while Obama's total $2.9 trillion, according to the center."

• Obama renews efforts to link McCain to Bush , The Associated Press (October 16, 2008) by Karen E. Crummy.
  

  "The facts: The independent Tax Policy Center says Obama's plan would cut taxes for 81.3 percent of all households in 2009."

• McCain Tax Jab Overlooks His Own Proposal , ABCNews.com, Political Radar blog (October 16, 2008).
  

  "Given that McCain has offered a refundable credit for health insurance, it's hard for him to argue that Obama providing similar credits constitutes welfare," said Roberton Williams, a principal research associate at the non-partisan Tax Policy Center. "You have to have done something to get it. You have to have worked, or paid mortgage interest, or paid college tuition, or put money into a retirement account before you can claim the refundable credit."

• Tax-relief fiction , The Washington Times (October 16, 2008).
  

  "Taxpayers would shell out $1.6 trillion over 10 years for Obama's plan, compared with $1.3 billion in that time under McCain's plan, according to the nonprofit Tax Policy Center."

• Editorial: Health and education reform , Los Angeles Times (October 16, 2008) by Donald Lambro.
  

  "Roberton Williams of the Tax Policy Center says "one can argue" that workers who don't pay income taxes "are paying Social Security payroll taxes and this is a tax cut against that."

• From 2 Rivals, 2 Prescriptions , The New York Times (October 15, 2008) by Jackie Calmes.
  

  "It’s not clear that either of these plans would do much good,” said Leonard Burman, director of the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. “But the benefits of Obama’s plan would be more widely distributed. McCain’s tax proposals would help most those with pretty high incomes — the group least in need of assistance."

• Warped facts in last presidential debate , The Associated Press (October 15, 2008) by Calvin Woodward and Jim Kuhnhenn.
  

  "Obama constantly says this. But the independent Tax Policy Center says his plan cuts taxes for 81.3 percent of all households in 2009."

• Obama’s Tax Cut is Actually a Spending Increase, Says Non-Partisan Group , CNS News (October 15, 2008) by Matt Cover.
  

  "Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s plan to cut taxes on 95 percent of taxpayers would effectively increase government spending by an average of $64.8 billion a year and effectively raise income tax rates for many Americans, even on some earning $20-$50,000 per year, according to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center."

• FactCheck: X-raying their health plans , Rome News-Tribune (October 15, 2008) by Lori Robertson.
  

  "The Lewin Group released an analysis last week concluding that McCain's plan would cover somewhat fewer people than Obama's, but at a much higher cost. An earlier study by the Urban Institute-Brookings Tax Policy Center predicted that Obama’s plan would cover far more people than McCain's, at a moderately higher cost. And two dueling studies published in the journal Health Affairs found flaws in both plans and concluded that neither would do much to reduce the number of the uninsured."

• John McCain proposes new package of tax breaks , Los Angeles Times (October 15, 2008) by Maeve Reston.
  

  "On the campaign trail they sound good -- like they are addressing real problems -- but they create their own problems," said Roberton Williams, principal research associate at the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute."

• Obama, McCain pitching costly economic proposals , The Boston Globe (October 15, 2008) by Sasha Issenberg and Michael Kranish.
  

  "Roberton Williams, a specialist at the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, questioned whether either plan would have much long-term impact. "Neither one is paid for, and it is not clear that either one would have much positive effect on the economy," he said."

• Reality Check Last Presidential Debate , CBS News (October 15, 2008).
  

  "When a tax credit is refundable, it means taxpayers with no tax liability get a check from the IRS for the value of the credits. The four year cost of all these credits, according the non partisan Tax Policy Center, is $966 billion dollars. Obama's critics are calling this a back door form of welfare."

• Secondary Sources: Will Banks Lend?, Myths, Stimulus Plans , The Wall Street Journal, Real Time Economics blog (October 15, 2008) by Phil Izzo.
  

  "Howard Gleckman of the Tax Policy Center’s TaxVox blog looks at new stimulus plans from Sens."

• Fact-checking Obama's and McCain's assertions in final debate , Palm Beach Post (October 15, 2008) by Bob Deans and Andrew Alexander.
  

  "The Record: Obama has proposed cutting taxes - by $2.9 billion over ten years, according to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center - for all workers earning less than $250,000 a year."

• Getting the facts straight , The Gazette (October 15, 2008).
  

  "The independent Tax Policy Center says Obama's plan cuts taxes for 81.3 percent of all households in 2009."

• Cap gains: Obama, McCain diverge , CNNMoney.com (October 15, 2008) By Tami Luhby.
  

  "What you're telling people is to invest today with plans to take the money out next year or the year after," said Roberton Williams, principal research associate at the Tax Policy Center in Washington. "That's not a good long-term policy and it's not good for the market in the long run. I don't see how it ensures people putting new money in the market."

• Don't expect details in Wednesday's final debate , The Seattle Times (October 15, 2008) by David Lightman.
  

  "However, he rarely describes these plans as tax increases, instead promoting a tax cut for those earning less than $250,000. Nor does he say precisely where he'll get the estimated $2.95 trillion the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center says will be needed over 10 years to pay for the tax cuts — although he insists that he will shrink budget deficits."

• McCain unveils new relief plan , Star-Telegram (October 15, 2008) by William Douglas and Margaret Talev.
  

  "Economic experts say both plans would add to the federal budget deficit. Rudy Penner, an Urban Institute analyst and former director of the Congressional Budget Office, said he didn’t embrace either plan for that reason."

• The Hofstra Debate: Where They Stand , Newsday (October 15, 2008) by Juliann Vachon.
  

  "Health care initiatives would cost about $1.3 trillion over 10 years, according to the Tax Policy Center."

• Editorial: Candidates need to level with American people , Corpus Christi Caller-Times (October 15, 2008).
  

  "There is likely to be very little leeway for the campaign promises that both men are making. McCain is promising to extend the Bush tax cuts which, the Tax Policy Center says, would raise the federal debt by $4.5 trillion over the decade. Obama's tax cuts, the Tax Policy Center says, would add $3.3 trillion to the national debt over 10 years. How can the candidates make those promises work given the disciplinary measures that the bailout and an economy almost certainly heading for recession would force?"

• Presidential Tax Calculators , The New York Times (October 14, 2008) By Catherine Rampell.
  

  "The calculations appear to be derived from an analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank run jointly by Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute."

• Trillion-dollar deficit looms, but candidates lack clear plans , McClatchy Newspapers (October 14, 2008) By David Lightman.
  

  "The price tag to the Treasury — according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center run by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute — could be $2.9 trillion over 10 years."

• Growing health-reform challenge for next president , The Associated Press (October 14, 2008) By Kevin Freking.
  

  "Both presidential candidates insist their health-care plans would not add to the national debt, but independent analyses suggest otherwise. The private Tax Policy Center, for example, puts the price tag for Obama's plan at $1.6 trillion over 10 years and for McCain's at $1.3 trillion over that time."

• The Cabinet of Dr. Obama , Yahoo! News (October 14, 2008) By Yuval Levin.
  

  "The money your employer takes out of your wages for your insurance would be taxed, but the new credit would more than cover the additional taxes, leaving you with the insurance you have now, and with a little more money in your pocket at tax time (between $700 and $1,600, according to the estimates of the Tax Policy Center). Things don't change for your employer, and they get a little better for you."

• McCain, Obama differ on taxes: who, how much , The Globe Gazette (October 14, 2008) By Ed Tibbetts.
  

  "A study by the non-partisan Tax Policy Center says Obama’s tax plan would cut taxes for families making less than $66,000 — about 60 percent of taxpayers — between $550 and $1,000 next year."

• Big Government Ahead , The New York Times (October 14, 2008) By David Brooks.
  

  "Fourth, there will be tax cuts. On Monday, Obama promised new tax subsidies to small business, which could cost tens of billions. That’s on top of his promise to cut taxes for 95 percent of American households. His tax plans aren’t as irresponsible as John McCain’s, but the Tax Policy Center still says they would reduce revenues by $2.8 trillion over the next decade."

• Obama proposes free taps of 401(k)s , The Tennessean (October 14, 2008) By Kathy Kiely and Matt Kelley.
  

  "Obama's plan calls for raising taxes only on the 5 percent of people who make more than $250,000 a year. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center found that under Obama's approach the wealthiest 1 percent of taxpayers would see their taxes go up on average by $93,709 in 2009, For McCain, those same wealthy taxpayers would see an average reduction of $48,860."

• McCain slaps at Bush, likens Obama to Hoover , Times Union (October 14, 2008).
  

  "Obama's plan calls for raising taxes only on the 5 percent of people who make more than $250,000 a year. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center found that under Obama's approach the wealthiest 1 percent of taxpayers would see their taxes go up on average by $93,709 in 2009, For McCain, those same wealthy taxpayers would see an average reduction of $48,860."

• McCain Vows Underdog Comeback , FoxNews.com (October 14, 2008).
  

  "In fact, Obama's tax plan calls for reductions for Americans making less than $200,000 a year -- about 95 percent of earners. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center found that under Obama's approach the wealthiest 1 percent of taxpayers would see their taxes go up on average by $93,709 in 2009. Under McCain, those same wealthy taxpayers would see an average reduction of $48,860."

• As Goes the White House, So Goes the Market? , Washingtonpost.com (October 13, 2008) By Steven Goldberg.
  

  "According to the nonpartisan Joint Tax Policy Center, both candidates' tax proposals would swell the deficit. By 2018, Obama would cut taxes by $2.9 trillion, and McCain would reduce them by $4.2 trillion. Neither candidate has spelled out how he would pay for those tax cuts."

• Obama tax cut 'refunds' those who don't pay , The Washington Times (October 13, 2008) By Donald Lambro.
  

  "The Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan policy analysis group established by the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, estimates that about 80 percent of households would receive a tax cut."

• Your money: What you're really voting for , Money Magazine (October 13, 2008) By Pat Regnier.
  

  "It's social spending through the tax code," says economist Roberton Williams of the Tax Policy Center (TPC) in Washington, D.C. (McCain also uses refundable credits but only in his health plan."

• Let the Crystal-Balling Begin , Columbia Journalism Review (October 13, 2008) By Trudy Lieberman .
  

  "Last May, the Urban Institute/ Brookings Institution Tax Policy Institute said that Obama’s plan would cover nearly half of America’s uninsured over a ten year period, while McCain’s plan would cover less than five percent."

• Will taxpayers save more under Obama or McCain plan? , KSL TV (October 13, 2008).
  

  "According to the non-partisan group Tax Policy Center, those who make less than $19,000 will save $567 under Barack Obama's plan. Under John McCain's, they'll save $21."

• Letter: Misinformation out there about candidate tax plans , Ski-Hi Daily News (October 13, 2008) By Amy Chamberlin.
  

  "We spoke with Len Berman, director of the nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, which has produced one of the most authoritative analyses of the two candidates’ tax plans. … Overall, the TPC found that Obama's plan would produce a tax cut for 81.3 percent of all households, and a cut for 95.5 percent of all households with children. Under Obama's plan, the TPC estimates that people (or couples) making between $37,595 and $66,354 a year would see an average savings of $1,118 on their taxes. Under McCain's plan, on the other hand, those same individuals would save $325 on average — $793 less than the average savings under Obama's plan."

• Obama vs. business & jobs , Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (October 13, 2008) By Ralph R. Reiland.
  

  "In the small business sector, the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center reports that "several hundred thousand small business owners" have incomes high enough to be hit by Obama's proposed tax hikes on income, capital gains and dividends."

• Collateral Damage , The Washington Independent (October 13, 2008) By Mike Lillis.
  

  "Into that maelstrom will walk either McCain or Obama, their health-reform plans in tow. Many details of those plans remain fuzzy, but independent analyses indicate their costs will be enormous. The Tax Policy Center, a collaboration of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, estimated that Obama’s plan will cost $1.6 trillion over 10 years, while McCain’s will run $1.3 trillion."

• What's the real story? McCain's tax plan , The Columbus Dispatch (October 13, 2008) By Mark Niquette.
  

  "But for the Wal-Mart workers and others who have limited or no health insurance and are basically healthy, the credit would help, said Len Burman, director of the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute."

• Focus on health care , The News-Sentinel (October 13, 2008).
  

  "The Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan Washington, D.C.-based think tank, estimates the McCain plan would cost the government $1.3 trillion over 10 years and would ensure 1 million more people the first year and about 5 million more by 2013."

• Obama calls for 90-day moratorium on foreclosures , The Associated Press (October 13, 2008) By Christopher Wills.
  

  "Obama's plan calls for raising taxes only on the 5 percent of people who make more than $250,000 a year. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center found that under Obama's approach the wealthiest 1 percent of taxpayers would see their taxes go up on average by $93,709 in 2009, For McCain, those same wealthy taxpayers would see an average reduction of $48,860."

• Where McCain, Obama stand on the issues , The Associated Press (October 13, 2008) By Calvin Woodward.
  

  "McCain: $2,500 refundable tax credit for individuals, $5,000 for families, to make health insurance more affordable. No mandate for universal coverage. Would no longer shield from income taxes those payments that businesses and their workers make toward employer-sponsored health insurance. Tax Policy Center estimates overall plan's cost at $1.3 trillion over 10 years."

• Economic illiteracy from the WSJ , Salon.com (October 13, 2008) By Alex Koppelman.
  

  "But Obama’s plan just doesn’t deal with income taxes, as the author or authors of that editorial know perfectly well. And with good reason — as William G. Gale and Jeffrey Rohaly of the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center pointed out in 2003, most Americans pay more in payroll taxes than they do in income taxes."

• New Economic Woes May Breathe Life Into Old Ideas About Deficit Reduction , CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS – BUDGET (October 13, 2008) By Catharine Richert.
  

  "We have a golden opportunity to get our fiscal house in order,” agreed Rudolph Penner, a former CBO director, now a senior fellow at the Urban Institute."

• Editorial: Obama's 95% Illusion , The Wall Street Journal (October 13, 2008).
  

  "The total annual expenditures on refundable "tax credits" would rise over the next 10 years by $647 billion to $1.054 trillion, according to the Tax Policy Center. This means that the tax-credit welfare state would soon cost four times actual cash welfare. By redefining such income payments as "tax credits," the Obama campaign also redefines them away as a tax share of GDP. Presto, the federal tax burden looks much smaller than it really is."

• John McCain, Barack Obama on healthcare , Los Angeles Times (October 13, 2008) By Susan Brink.
  

  "The Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, estimates that over 10 years, McCain's plan would cost the federal budget $1.3 trillion, while Obama's plan would cost $1.6 trillion. Go to www.taxpolicycenter.org."

• Candidates' health plans compared , Philadelphia Daily News (October 13, 2008) By Catherine Lucey.
  

  "McCain's plan would cost about $1.3 trillion over 10 years, according to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center."

• Fiscal Fairyland , Chicago Tribune (October 12, 2008) By Steve Chapman.
  

  "Like McCain, he chooses not to pay for all of it. Compared to current policies, the Tax Policy Center says Obama would boost revenue by an average of just $60 billion per year. So of his new spending, only one-fifth would be financed with new revenue."

• How Much Would You Pay in Taxes? , Parade Magazine (October 12, 2008) By Rebecca Davis O'Brien.
  

  "*Source: Tax Policy Center. Numbers have been rounded. For complete details, go to TaxPolicyCenter.org."

• How Many Digits Must We Grow? , The Ledger (October 12, 2008).
  

  "The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, in a report released late last month, noted that Sen. John McCain's tax proposals would increase the debt by about $5 trillion over the next five years. Sen. Barack Obama's proposals would increase the debt by $3.5 trillion."

• Obama should be held to his promises , Minnesota Daily (October 12, 2008) By Andy Post.
  

  "In Obama’s short time as a senator, he was labeled a Democratic Party loyalist. His calls for working “across the aisle” are only statements, because there is little record to support he has done this much. The nonpartisan tax policy center report claims Obama’s moves would increase the deficit by $3.3 billion over ten years."

• Comparing the presidential candidates' income tax plans , Crescent-News (October 12, 2008) By Jack Palmer.
  

  "The Obama tax plan would make the tax system significantly more progressive by providing large tax breaks to those at the bottom of the income scale and raising taxes significantly on upper-income earners," said the TPC, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution which strives for neutral analysis of candidate plans."

• Grim economic reality faces next president , San Francisco Chronicle (October 12, 2008) By Carolyn Lochhead.
  

  "Would raise taxes on upper-income groups. Would save money winding down the Iraq war but add spending on the war in Afghanistan. The Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Brookings Institution and Urban Institute, estimated that Obama's tax plan would raise $600 billion over the next decade as compared with current policy."

• Editorial: Beware of politicians bearing boondoggles purporting to be gifts , The News Journal (October 12, 2008).
  

  "But unlike many of the congressional alarmists, real experts are saying we have work to do, but we shouldn't panic. Rudolph G. Penner of the Urban Institute says, "I'd call it a problem, not a crisis."

• Obama spot tackles health care , News-Leader (October 12, 2008) By Eun Kyung Kim.
  

  "The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center says the average taxpayer would see a significant drop in his tax bill the first year of the plan. Over time, the value of the tax credit could decrease as premiums rise. The center also estimates McCain's plan would increase the federal deficit by $1.3 trillion over 10 years and "modestly trim" the number of uninsured. In comparison, Obama's health care plan would cost $1.6 trillion but would cover "virtually all children and many currently uninsured adults."

• McCain, Obama call for tax reform, but their goals differ , Austin American-Statesman (October 12, 2008) By Bob Deans.
  

  "In general, McCain's tax cuts "would primarily benefit those with very high incomes," while Obama "offers much larger tax breaks to low- and middle-income taxpayers and would increase taxes on high-income taxpayers," according to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution."

• Sorting out the truth on health care , St. Petersburg Times (October 11, 2008).
  

  "There's ample evidence that the plan would be a wash for most workers. The McCain campaign says only those with "gold-plated" coverage would do worse. An analysis from the nonpartisan Urban Institute confirms it: "In general, lower-income people with health insurance would receive benefits from the credit that would be well in excess of the value that they receive from today's tax exemption." So McCain's health plan does not leave you "on your own" to pay a health insurance tax. His plan gives you a credit to work with. We rate Obama's statement Barely True."

• The Real Risk Of McCain's Health Plan , National Journal (October 11, 2008) By Ronald Brownstein.
  

  "That's flat wrong. For all but the highest earners with the most-expensive insurance plans, the credit would more than offset the additional taxes workers would face from ending the exclusion, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center calculates."

• Economy is a key issue in race for White House , The Patriot-News (October 11, 2008) By Tom Dochat.
  

  "The Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan joint venture of The Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, added that "their specific nonhealth tax proposals would reduce tax revenues by an estimated $4.2 trillion [McCain] and $2.9 trillion [Obama] over the next 10 years."

• Guest column: Record belies rhetoric for 'fiscal conservatives'. , The Des Moines Register (October 11, 2008) By Bill Ferguson.
  

  "Finally, McCain's plans to extend the Bush tax cuts and cut other taxes like the corporate income tax will darken the fiscal picture. According to the Tax Policy Center, these proposals would cut tax revenues by $4.2 trillion over the next decade. Adding in tax cuts McCain has promised in stump speeches, such as allowing businesses to immediately expense investments in equipment, the 10-year revenue loss rises to $7 trillion. By comparison, 2007 GDP was about $14 trillion."

• Obama's is OK; McCain's is a disaster. , Herald Tribune (October 11, 2008) By Waldo Proffitt.
  

  "The observations above apply to the health care of people not old enough for Medicare benefits. The McCain tax credits to be given them would, according to the Tax Policy Center, cost the government $1.3 billion over 10 years. The McCain campaign explains this would be tax-neutral because it would be offset by savings in Medicare and Medicaid. The savings, it is claimed, could be achieved by eliminating Medicare fraud and reforming payment policies."

• For Karl Rove, a Busy New Career and a ‘Rovian’ Legacy , The New York Times (October 11, 2008) By Mark Leibovich.
  

  "People close to Mr. Rove said he was determined to leave his mark on this race through public channels. He prepares diligently for his television appearances, and sprinkles his commentaries with the kind of wonkery that goes well beyond the repertoire of most talking heads. (“The Urban Institute and the Brookings Institutions did a study of the Obama tax plan,” Mr. Rove said on Fox’s “Hannity and Colmes” after the Tuesday debate. “The top 5 percent will pay $131 billion more in taxes."

• Is health reform possible in this economy? , Chicago Tribune, Triage blog (October 10, 2008) by Judith Graham.
  

  "A recent report from the Tax Policy Center prices the McCain plan at $1.3 trillion and the Obama plan at $1.6 trillion over a 10-year period."

• The Solution to Tax-Exempt Health Insurance , The New York Times, Campaign Stops blog (October 10, 2008) by Stuart M. Butler.
  

  "What about the middle-class? The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center points out that a $5,000 tax credit is actually worth more than the dollar value of the health tax exclusion for most insured middle-class workers."

• McCain, Obama again dodged priority questions , Middlesboro Daily News (October 10, 2008) by Morton Kondracke.
  

  "The committee estimated McCain's proposed tax cuts to cost $417 billion to $485 billion that year — based on his campaign's own estimates — but another group, the Brookings Institution-Urban Institute Tax Policy Center, said they could cost $700 billion, based on McCain's statements in stump speeches."

• Meet the Adviser Stabbing at McCain’s Self-destruct Button , New York Magazine, Daily Intel blog (October 10, 2008) by Peter Keating.
  

  "And when the Tax Policy Center discovered a $2.8 trillion gap between McCain's public proposals and his formal policies, Holtz-Eakin replied that just because McCain says something "doesn’t mean it’s official." Result: headlines like “McCain May Not Speak for the McCain Campaign on the Economy."

• Americans Deserve a Real Health Care Debate , RealClearPolitics.com (October 10, 2008) by Tom Coburn and Richard Burr.
  

  "Even the left-leaning Tax Policy Center has recognized that the change proposed by McCain-Palin will result in "a significant tax cut" for middle-class families. Moreover, Senator Obama's own Senior Economic Advisor, Jason Furman, endorsed McCain's proposal when he wrote that "we could scrap the current deduction altogether and replace it with progressive tax credits that, together with other changes, would ensure that every American has affordable health insurance."

• The small business owner's guide to the presidential election , Denver Business Journal (October 10, 2008) by Kent Hoover.
  

  "Only 2 percent of taxpayers with small business income will pay taxes at the two highest rates in 2009, according to the Tax Policy Center."

• Time works against candidates on Social Security, Medicare fixes , McClatchy Newspapers (October 10, 2008) by David Lightman and Kevin G. Hall.
  

  "McCain said he'd pay for the tax credits with unspecified cuts in Medicare and Medicaid, the state-federal health program for the poor and disabled. The Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center estimates that McCain's proposed tax cuts would cost the Treasury $1.3 trillion over 10 years. The Arizona senator hasn't detailed how he'd cut that much from Medicare and Medicaid."

• Election '08: Candidates' tax proposals aimed at different groups , Business First of Columbus (October 10, 2008) by Kent Hoover.
  

  "Earnings at most small businesses are passed through to their owners for tax purposes and are taxed at individual income tax rates. Only 2 percent of taxpayers with small-business income will pay taxes at the two highest rates in 2009, according to the Tax Policy Center."

• Fact Check: Does McCain want tax breaks for companies that send jobs overseas? , CNN.com, Political Ticker blog (October 10, 2008).
  

  "Robertson Williams, principal research associate for the Washington, D.C.-based non-partisan Tax Policy Center, said the issue of taxes and domestic companies moving operations and jobs overseas is complex."

• As the Economy Sinks, So Do Odds of a Tax Cut , U.S. News and World Report, Flow Chart blog (October 9, 2008) By Rick Newman.
  

  "If McCain gets elected. The estimated cost of McCain's tax cuts over five years is $1.48 trillion, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. The most costly part of McCain's plan would be the permanent extension of the Bush tax cuts from 2001 and 2003, which lowered taxes for most Americans. Those extensions would amount to $585 billion of lost government revenue, compared to letting tax rates go back to their earlier levels. And if there's any good news for taxpayers, it's that most of the Bush tax cuts are likely to stay in place, regardless of who wins in November. "Resetting them would amount to raising taxes when the economy is not doing so well," says Roberton Williams of the Tax Policy Center. "That harkens back to Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression." If the Bush cuts do become permanent, most workers won't notice—their paychecks will stay the same."

• Healthcare: Where McCain, Obama stand , Newsday (October 9, 2008).
  

  "$1.3 trillion over 10 years, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center; campaign says cost containment measures will pay for it."

• Obama Can't Explain' ad has some inaccuracies , The Cleveland Plain Dealer (October 9, 2008) by Jack Torry.
  

  "Len Burman, who studied the candidates' plans for the Tax Policy Center, which is sponsored by the Brookings Institution and Urban Institute, said last month that "McCain's plan seems to be a significant tax cut, at least in the short term."

• Bailout Pales Next to Budget Crisis , The Washington Independent (October 9, 2008) by Mike Lillis.
  

  "It’s clear that our dysfunctional Congress is not going to act unless pressured by the voters,” said Rudolph Penner, a former director of the Congressional Budget Office who is now a scholar at the Urban Institute."

• Healthcare Law Professors React to Candidates' Plans , WSIL-TV (October 9, 2008) by Kevin Hunsperger.
  

  "The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center estimates that McCain's plan would cover about five million of the uninsured, and would increase the deficit by $1.3 trillion over ten years."

• Rescue Offers AMT Patch, Tax Breaks , Investor’s Business Daily (October 9, 2008) by Paul Katzeff.
  

  "With the new exemptions, 4.1 million taxpayers are expected to fall prey to the AMT, according to the Tax Policy Center."

• Editorial: Globe Exchange , Dodge City Daily Globe (October 9, 2008).
  

  "According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, the Obama tax plan would let middle-class tax payers keep, on average, $2,200 a year, while the richest 1 percent would pay an average of $19,000 more in taxes each year. Under the McCain tax plan, the richest 1 percent would get a tax cut of more than $125,000 a year. So when the McCain campaign says Obama will raise taxes, they are actually talking about the richest 1 percent."

• Letter: The better tax plan , The Star-Ledger (October 9, 2008) by Leo M. Murray.
  

  "The Tax Policy Center, a Washington, D.C.-based institute that analyzes IRS data, reports that by 2006, 41 percent of all in come tax filers paid no income tax or had their entire payments refunded. The higher the number of voters with low concern about higher government spending, the higher the number whose labors are penalized and discouraged."

• 5 must-visit Web sites before Election Day , Naperville Sun (October 9, 2008) by Dustin Michael Harris.
  

  "Tax Policy Center -- Another dry one, but an important one. With the current economic crisis looming over us all, the biggest issue in Tuesday's presidential debate was the differing tax policies proposed by each candidate. I realize tax policy isn't exactly light reading, but in these tough times, it's important to understand and the Tax Policy Center breaks it down better than anyone."

• McCain, Obama Again Dodged Priority Questions , RealClearPolitics.com (October 9, 2008) by Mort Kondracke.
  

  "The committee estimated McCain’s proposed tax cuts to cost $417 billion to $485 billion that year — based on his campaign’s own estimates — but another group, the Brookings Institution-Urban Institute Tax Policy Center, said they could cost $700 billion, based on McCain’s statements in stump speeches."

• Fact check: Context of key debate claims , USA Today (October 8, 2008) By Matt Kelley and Ken Dilanian.
  

  "Len Burman, who runs the Tax Policy Center, said recently: "The vast majority of small businesses would not be affected by the Obama tax increases" because they are not in the top two tax brackets. He added, "Most small-business owners have relatively modest incomes."

• Fact-checking the candidates , Los Angeles Times (October 8, 2008) By Noam N. Levey.
  

  "But according to the nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, a joint effort by two Washington think tanks, less than 3% of small businesses pay taxes in the top two brackets and could therefore see higher taxes. And for most of those small businesses, business revenue represents less than half of their income."

• Candidates’ arguments are as familiar as their mistakes , The Olympian (October 8, 2008) By David Goldstein.
  

  "The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center said the 95 percent refers to working families. If all tax filers are included, the percentage is 81."

• McCain: how he did , San Francisco Chronicle (October 8, 2008) By Joe Garofoli.
  

  "McCain said "Sen. Obama's secret that you don't know is that his tax increases will increase taxes on 50 percent of small business revenue." The Tax Policy Center said 99 percent of small business filers in 2009 would not see their marginal income tax rates lifted under Obama's plan."

• Did the Candidates Get It Right? , The Press-Democrat (October 8, 2008).
  

  "THE FACTS: Obama's suggestion that McCain's plan is a wash for families is misleading. McCain offers families a $5,000 tax credit to help them buy health insurance. The corresponding increase in taxable wages would result in a much smaller cost than the value of the tax credit, at least at first. Over time, the value of the tax credit may diminish as premiums rise. However, the Tax Policy Center estimates McCain's plan would increase the federal deficit by $1.3 trillion over 10 years -- mainly because it would lead to less tax revenue, meaning it is a true tax break overall."

• Nashville Presidential Debate part II , The Washington Post, The Fact Checker blog (October 8, 2008) by Michael Dobbs.
  

  "The Arizona senator claimed that his rival will harm small businesses through a series of taxes and fines that will cut into their revenues. His claim is based on part of an Obama proposal to allow the present Bush tax cuts on individuals making more than $250,000 a year to expire, as scheduled, in 2011. McCain argues that many small business owners pay taxes as individuals rather than corporations. However, a study by the Tax Policy Center cited by Factcheck.org here estimated that around 663,000 taxpayers reporting some kind of business income would face higher taxes under the Obama proposal. This is a small fraction of the total number of small business-owners in the country, previously put by McCain at around 23 million."

• Lewin Group Says McCain Plan Would Cover 21 Million Uninsured , CQ Politics (October 8, 2008) by John Reichard.
  

  "An Obama advisor said Wednesday that he agrees with the finding that Obama would cover more people for less money but suggested that Lewin’s estimates of how many uninsured people would gain coverage under the McCain plan are flawed. Other independent estimates have been far lower, said David Cutler, a Harvard University economics professor. He cited a study by the Tax Policy Center, a joint program sponsored by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, and a study published in September in the journal Health Affairs."

• Fact Check: The second presidential debate , KGO-TV (October 8, 2008) by Mark Matthews.
  

  "Fact Check: The non-partisan Tax Policy Center found McCain's plan would give a net savings, at least in the short-term."

• Reality Check: McCain Ad Calls Obama A 'Tax Hiker' , CBS 4 Denver (October 8, 2008) by Raj Chohan.
  

  "But it's not the whole story. If the general point is that Obama's votes have supported tax hikes compared to McCain's tax plan, well, that implication is true. Sen. Obama's past votes tend to support policies that would raise taxes either directly or indirectly. According to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, Obama's future tax plan would raise taxes by about $600 billion, while McCain's tax plan would cut taxes by $600 billion. Nevertheless, the Tax Policy Center has concluded that both candidates have made promises they cannot pay for without significantly driving up the federal deficit."

• Budget observers predict crunch on spending , Governing.com (October 8, 2008) by Humberto Sanchez.
  

  "Another Democratic House leadership aide suggested that party leaders do not want to raise the markets' hopes by getting a stimulus package only through the House and not the Senate -- an indication that such legislation might make more sense next year with a new Congress and president. Rudolph Penner, a fellow at the Urban Institute and a former CBO director, said the growing budget deficit and surging issuance of federal debt should preclude any short-term stimulus. But David Walker, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a former chief of GAO, said that more details of the package need to be known before it can be judged."

• Fact check: Obama, McCain twist records , The Associated Press (October 8, 2008) by Jim Kuhnhenn and Calvin Woodward.
  

  "Obama's suggestion that McCain's health care plan is a wash for families is misleading. McCain offers families a $5,000 tax credit to help them buy health insurance. The corresponding increase in taxable wages would result in a much smaller cost than the value of the tax credit, at least at first. Over time, the value of the tax credit may diminish as premiums rise. However, the Tax Policy Center estimates that McCain's plan would increase the federal deficit by $1.3 trillion over 10 years — mainly because it would lead to less tax revenue coming in, meaning it is a true tax break overall."

• Health Insurance For All , The Washington Post (October 8, 2008) by Michael Gerson.
  

  "At least 20 million Americans," charges Obama, "will lose the insurance they rely on from their workplace." As Yuval Levin of the Ethics and Public Policy Center points out, this is a distortion. He cites a Tax Policy Center estimate that the McCain plan would result in 21 million people entering the individual insurance market by 2018 -- many because individual ownership of insurance will be more attractive. In every mainstream analysis, McCain's plan would result in a net increase in the number of insured Americans."

• Editorial: Obama and Health-Care Equity , The Wall Street Journal (October 8, 2008).
  

  "All in all, workers would come out ahead with the McCain plan. According to the left-leaning Tax Policy Center, the average taxpayer would see his tax bill drop by $1,241 in 2009. On average, lower-wage workers have more limited coverage as part of their compensation, mostly from small- or medium-size businesses. But the more generous the employer health plan, the more the tax subsidies increase. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the current employer benefit is only worth between $600 and $3,000 for people making under $100,000. The upper-income brackets save between $4,000 and $5,000."

• McCain, Obama Compete to Revamp U.S. Health Insurance System , Bloomberg News (October 8, 2008) By Aliza Marcus.
  

  "Obama's plan generally helps people who have difficulty getting insurance because of health conditions or whose incomes make it harder for them to afford coverage," said Roberton Williams, a researcher with the Tax Policy Center in Washington. "McCain's plan is likely to help more those who are reasonably healthy and don't get insurance on the job."

• The Rich Pay Their Fair Share , The Wall Street Journal (October 7, 2008) By Andrew G. Biggs and Kent Smetters.
  

  "According to the Tax Policy Center, a joint venture between the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, around 78% of the McCain tax cut would accrue to the top fifth of income earners, with almost 30% going to the highest 1%. This seems inequitable on its face, a point the Obama campaign and the press focus on."

• Business Cool Toward McCain’s Health Coverage Plan , The New York Times (October 7, 2008) By Kevin Sack.
  

  "Though Mr. McCain says his plan would not add to federal spending, the Tax Policy Center has estimated that it will cost at least $1.3 trillion over 10 years. And while right-leaning economists emphasize that the plan would provide a tax cut for the average American, opponents respond that certain high-earners will face an increase and that some in the middle class may break even only by reducing their coverage."

• What if I get sick and need insurance? The candidates' proposals , Chicago Tribune, Triage blog (October 7, 2008) By Judith Graham.
  

  "In the Tax Policy Center’s study [of the candidates’ health plans], they assume Obama would help people all the way up to 400 percent of poverty. But I don’t think he’s made those decisions yet. It really depends on the economic situation and what the cost turns out to be."

• How McCain Funds Health Reform: By Cutting Medicare , Inc. magazine, The Entrepreneurial Agenda blog (October 7, 2008) By Robb Mandelbaum.
  

  "Yet the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank affiliated with the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, has concluded, based on the fragmentary information available, that McCain's plan could cost the Treasury $1.3 trillion over ten years."

• 5 Democratic governors urge Obama health plan , The Philadelphia Inquirer (October 7, 2008) By Stacey Burling.
  

  "The Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the nonprofit Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, estimates that over 10 years, McCain's plan would cost $1.3 trillion and Obama's $1.6 trillion."

• Elections Don't Matter for Stocks , Kiplinger (October 7, 2008) By Steven Goldberg.
  

  "According to the nonpartisan Joint Tax Policy Center, both candidates' tax proposals would swell the deficit. By 2018, Obama would cut taxes by $2.9 trillion, and McCain would reduce them by $4.2 trillion. Neither candidate has spelled out how he would pay for those tax cuts."

• Palin stretches truth in campaign speeches , The Associated Press (October 7, 2008) By Beth Fouhy.
  

  "The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center found McCain's tax credit would be more generous than the current tax break initially but could fall behind in later years. The center also found his plan would increase the deficit by $1.3 trillion over 10 years."

• McCain Health Plan Has Underlying Illness , TheStreet.com (October 7, 2008) By John Fout.
  

  "Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) has promised to revolutionize the U.S. health care industry if elected president by ending the current employer-based tax subsidy and offering the subsidy instead to individuals. His plan would cost about $1.3 trillion over 10 years, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center."

• Letter: Obama and taxes , The Advocate (October 7, 2008).
  

  "In this election year, many Obama supporters are claiming that the Republicans are lying about Barack Obama's tax cuts. The major news reporters and columnists who tout Obama repeatedly cite numbers given by some project called the Tax Policy Center. These Obama supporters will never tell you that this is a project operated by two liberal-Democrat think tanks."

• A taxing proposition: Both McCain and Obama want relief for lower, middle class; philosophical differences mark candidates' methods , Elko Daily Free Press (October 7, 2008) by V. Ali Helgoth.
  

  "According to an August analysis by the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, both tax plans would “substantially increase the national debt over the next 10 years,” but the beneficiaries of the plans are strikingly different."

• McCain Camp Denies Plans for Massive Medicare Cuts , CQ Politics (October 7, 2008) By John Reichard.
  

  "Roberton Williams, a research analyst with the Tax Policy Center, a joint program by the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, said that initially virtually everyone with employer-sponsored health benefits would get a tax cut under the McCain plan. But he said the net cost of the plan would be $1.3 trillion over 10 years, even after taking into account the revenues that would be generated from the fact that some higher income Americans with very lavish health benefits would have to pay higher taxes. The center hasn’t said that money would come from Medicare and Medicaid cuts but the money would have to come from somewhere, he said.

• National Debt Passes $10 Trillion, No One Notices , The Huffington Post (October 7, 2008) By Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson.
  

  "Neither Barack Obama nor John McCain is talking about this problem. In fact what they're saying right now will make the problem worse. If you saw the first presidential debate, you saw Jim Lehrer try to pin these guys down on how the Wall Street bailout would affect their plans. You also saw them both duck the questions. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center says McCain's plans would increase the national debt by $5 trillion over the next 10 years, while Obama's would increase the debt by $3.5 trillion. Right now one of the biggest unspoken campaign promises for both men is to offer you lots of tax cuts and/or new programs the country doesn't have the money for.

• Cutting Medicare and Medicaid to fund regressive tax cuts: Haven't we heard this before? , The Huffington Post (October 7, 2008) By Harold Pollack.
  

  "Does that figure, $1.3 trillion, sound familiar? It should. That's almost exactly the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center's estimate of the McCain tax plan's contribution, over and above Obama's, to the federal debt over the same period. This $1.3 trillion flows directly from continued and further tax cuts for people with annual incomes over $250,000. Financing regressive tax cuts by cutting Medicare and Medicaid: Do they pledge to shut down the government, too?.

• Obama’s Glass House , National Review Online (October 7, 2008) By James C. Capretta.
  

  "Obama and Biden are trying to scare voters by suggesting, first of all, that McCain’s reform would leave some households worse off than they are today. In fact, most Americans would come out well ahead under the McCain plan, as independent estimates — and common sense — indicate. A middle-class household in the 25-percent tax bracket — that’s married couples with incomes between $65,100 and $131,450 in 2008 — would have to get more than $20,000 a year in employer-paid premiums to be better off today than under the McCain plan. (The average employer contribution to family coverage was $9,325 in 2008, according to this annual survey.) A distributional analysis of the McCain plan by the Tax Policy Center shows all income groups, including the poorest fifth, better off with the McCain tax credit than under current law in 2009."

• Compare the tax plans proposed by candidates Obama and McCain , The Daily Times (October 7, 2008).
  

  "The chart at right was prepared by a nonpartisan policy group, the Tax Policy Center, Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center in Washington. [Note: chart did not appear on the web site."

• New McCain ad attacks Obama's tax measures , The Cincinnati Enquirer (October 7, 2008) By Jon Craig.
  

  "Over the next decade, Obama's spending plan would result in a national debt $1.2 trillion smaller than under Republican Sen. John McCain's plan, according to the Tax Policy Center."

• Reality Check On The Town Hall Debate , WKGR.com (October 7, 2008).
  

  "Senator Barack Obama claims he's proposing a net spending cut. False, according to most nonpartisan sources. Tax Policy Center says Obama will deficit spend by $473 billion over 4 years, and that was an estimate made before the bailout. McCain scored worse, however, with a projected 4 year deficit of $988 billion."

• Live Coverage of the Second Obama-McCain Debate , Philadelphia News Examiner (October 6, 2008) By Jane Roh.
  

  "On to health care. Platitudes about their plans (read about the details here). McCain's plan is cheaper but would cover far fewer people, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center."

• McCain Will Cut Medicare and Medicaid to Fund Health Plan , The Washington Independent (October 6, 2008) By Matthew DeLong.
  

  "An analysis(PDF) by the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, the report cited in the Journal, found that the McCain health plan would “would dramatically change how many Americans obtain health insurance coverage, make coverage less accessible for those with health problems, have a high budget cost but have little effect on the number uninsured."

• McCain's New Strategy: Bill Ayres, Bill Ayres, Bill Ayres , CQ Politics, David Corn’s blog (October 6, 2008).
  

  "The Tax Policy Center estimates that 20 million workers will leave the employer-based system, not always voluntarily. Midsize and smaller companies are likely to drop their plans and tell you to use the credit to buy a policy yourself."

• McCain: I'm Not Raising Taxes. I'm Cutting Medicare! , The New Republic, The Plank blog (October 6, 2008) by Jonathan Cohn.
  

  "But that also changed the math. Instead of being revenue neutral, the McCain health plan would cost the government money. A lot of money. According to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, it would add $1.3 trillion to the deficit over ten years."

• On the issues: A look at McCain's and Obama's stances , Morning Sun (October 6, 2008).
  

  "Obama: According to the Tax Policy Center, Obama’s plan would raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans, but those making less than $225,000 would see a break."

• How McCain intends to pay for his health care plan , The Examiner, Progressive Politics Examiner blog (October 6, 2008) By Jay McDonough.
  

  "The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, a Washington think tank, estimates that the McCain plan would cost the government $1.3 trillion over 10 years. The plan would allow as many as five million more people to have insurance, it estimates."

• Letter: Obama tax plan helps those most in need , The Fort Pierce News (October 6, 2008).
  

  "This publication stated that the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center did an analysis of the proposed tax-incentive programs of John McCain and Barack Obama."

• Letter: Obama plan brings better tax relief , The Daily Advance (October 6, 2008).
  

  "According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2005 only 1.5 percent of U.S. households had a combined income of $250,000 or more. Obama’s proposed tax increases (actually, a return to the rates that existed before Bush’s fiscally irresponsible cuts) will be restricted to households earning $250,000 or more. Under Obama’s proposal, 95 percent of households will experience a tax reduction. The Tax Policy Center estimates that middle class families will be provided three times the tax relief under the Obama plan as under the McCain plan."

• Barack Obama ad is accurate but lacks explanation -- Eye on Ohio , The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Openers blog (October 6, 2008) by V. David Sartin.
  

  "The credit only goes up by general inflation. Health care costs have gone up faster. In 10 years, most taxpayers would get a smaller value from the McCain tax subsidy than current tax policy, according to the Tax Policy Center, an independent organization."

• McCain Plans Federal Health Cuts , The Wall Street Journal (October 6, 2008) by Laura Meckler.
  

  "The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, a Washington think tank, estimates that the McCain plan would cost the government $1.3 trillion over 10 years. The plan would allow as many as five million more people to have insurance, it estimates."

• Editorial: Miser in chief , Savannah Morning News (October 6, 2008).
  

  "The Democratic presidential hopeful's health plan would cost some $1.6 trillion over the next 10 years, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. Republican John McCain's proposed tax credits for families who buy their own health insurance would cost $1.3 trillion."

• Taxes a concern after big bailout , Altoona Mirror (October 5, 2008) by Jessica VanderKolk.
  

  "Analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, in mid-September showed the candidates' plans would significantly increase the nation's debt - McCain's by $5 trillion and Obama's by $3.5 trillion in the next decade."

• Letter: Obama the clear choice , Summit Daily News (October 5, 2008) by William Kleckner.
  

  "The Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan group, estimates McCain’s plan will reduce federal revenues by $3.7 trillion over the next decade. So it appears that his plan is to reduce revenues and cut programs."

• Letter: Obama's plan is tax relief to modest-income families , Morning Sentinel (October 5, 2008) by Jim Cook.
  

  "Barack Obama's plan would provide significant tax relief to individuals and families who earn modest incomes. John McCain's tax proposal includes only minor tax relief for people with lower incomes. According to The Tax Policy Center, Obama's plan would reduce the average tax bill by $567 for those with incomes below $19,000. The same folks would save just $19 under McCain's plan."

• Federal bailout lacks control of home loans to aid owners , The Boston Globe (October 5, 2008) by Jenifer B. McKim.
  

  "Kim Reuben, a public finance economist with the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., predicted that the companies involved in the mortgages will see the political writing on the wall. "There is already movement in the private sector holding the securities to understand they are going to have to negotiate," said Reuben."

• Sen. Obama not so 'mum' on the economic crisis , The Nashua Telegraph (October 5, 2008) by Lori Robertson.
  

  "The vast majority of "families," however, wouldn't be affected by a tax increase on those making more than $250,000 a year. In fact, an analysis of the candidates' tax plans by the Urban Institute-Brookings Tax Policy Center found that 95.5 percent of households with children would get a tax cut under Obama's plan. And overall, 81.3 percent of all households would see a tax cut."

• Obama tax cuts aimed at the less-than-wealthy , The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jay Bookman blog (October 5, 2008).
  

  "To conduct its analysis, the Tax Policy Center conferred in detail with top economic advisers in both campaigns, trying to ensure that they got it right. In some cases, as it noted, the platforms described by economic advisers differed from those described by the candidates themselves on the stump."

• Fact Check: McCain's proposed health care tax credit , CNN.com, Political Ticker blog (October 5, 2008).
  

  "That same study also reported the average cost workers pay for employer-provided health care coverage is $721 for singles and $3,354 for family coverage. The rest is covered by the employer. Those figures back up a conclusion from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center — that McCain's health plan, offering a tax credit of $2,500 per individual and $5,000 per family, initially would be a net tax cut for many. As the CNN Truth Squad has previously reported, the center calls McCain's health care plan a tax cut for virtually all Americans through 2013 and for the middle-class through 2018, which is as far as the center has projected. But the center says long-term, some of those benefits might erode if the tax credit did not keep up with costs of health care."

• Next president will be handed a fragile economy , The Associated Press (October 5, 2008) by Tom Raum.
  

  "Under Obama's approach, the wealthiest 1 percent of taxpayers, those making roughly $600,000 or more, would see their taxes go up on average by $93,709 in 2009, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, because Obama would begin putting in place the changes before the scheduled expiration of the Bush cuts."

• Obama assails McCain over health care proposal , The Associated Press (October 5, 2008) by Charles Babington.
  

  "It's true that McCain doesn't mention that he would tax health benefits on the section of his Web site where he describes his plan. But the Obama ad omits some important context — the tax credit McCain plans to offer would be more generous than the current tax break, at least for most families for the first several years, according to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center."

• Campaign check: Lies and half-truths outed , San Francisco Chronicle (October 5, 2008) by Joe Garofoli.
  

  "It's not budget neutral. The nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center estimates that McCain's plan would increase the deficit by $1.3 trillion over 10 years - and cover only 5 million uninsured people. Obama's plan would cost $1.6 trillion over that same period and cover 34 million people."

• Vetting McCain’s Health Plan , Newsweek (October 4, 2008) by Jane Bryant Quinn.
  

  "If you think that "The Market"—whatever market—always works for the best, you'll love John McCain's version of health insurance reform. It uses the tax code to shove you toward individual policies (more "choice!") and away from comprehensive, employer supported plans. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center puts the cost of his proposed subsidies at $1.3 trillion over 10 years.

• Fact Checking the Fact Checkers: The Washington Post Gets its Pinocchios Dead Wrong on Biden, Palin and Health Care , The Huffington Post (October 4, 2008) by Gene Sperling.
  

  "The Washington Post oddly also writes that Biden should have somehow noted that a Tax Policy Center study shows that McCain's plan would be a tax cut for middle class families on average. Yet, the Washington Post fact checkers fail to mention that this Tax Policy Center analysis assumes that the McCain plan costs $1.3 trillion over ten years -- on top of the trillions they have already committed to their corporate tax and upper income tax cuts that they have not offered any serious way to pay for."

• Political views on taxes set McCain, Obama apart , Quad-City Times (October 4, 2008) by Ed Tibbetts.
  

  "A study by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center says Obama’s tax plan would cut taxes for families making less than $66,000 — about 60 percent of taxpayers — between $550 and $1,000 next year. McCain’s plan would cut taxes for that group by $20 to $320, the center says."

• Decrying McCain's 'Radical' Plan, Obama Returns Focus to Health Care Coverage , The Washington Post, The Trail blog (October 4, 2008) by Perry Bacon Jr.
  

  "A study by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimated that 20 million Americans might lose their coverage under the McCain plan. But with the help of the McCain tax credits, more than 21 million people would also pick up health insurance -- a point Obama's critique omits. The people getting insurance under McCain's approach would likely be in plans less generous than what they received through their employer."

• Issues: The Deficit: Facing Up to Reality , CQ Weekly – In Focus (October 4, 2008) by David Clarke and Liriel Higa.
  

  "Both candidates’ tax proposals would substantially add to the government’s debt over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center run jointly by the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution. Compared with current law — which assumes the scheduled Dec. 31, 2010, expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts — Obama’s tax plan, not including any health care policy changes, would cut revenue by $2.9 trillion over 10 years, requiring roughly that much in additional borrowing to sustain the same level of spending. McCain’s plans, not counting health care, would slice revenues by $4.2 trillion."

• Joe Biden's health care whopper , New York Daily News (October 3, 2008) by Michael Cannon.
  

  "The Washington Post awarded Biden four "Pinocchios" for omitting the fact that McCain would replace that tax break with another, which would be much larger for most workers. The left-leaning Tax Policy Center estimates the average taxpayer would see their tax bill go down by $1,241 in 2009, though the average tax cut would get smaller over time."

• Fact check: Context of key debate claims , USA Today (October 3, 2008) by Ken Dilanian and Richard Wolf.
  

  "Len Burman, who runs the Tax Policy Center, said in an interview Thursday: "The vast majority of small businesses would not be affected by the Obama tax increases" because they are not in the top two tax brackets. He added, "Most small business owners have relatively modest incomes."

• Biden-Palin: Checking the facts on what they said , The Salt Lake Tribune (October 3, 2008) by Bob Deans and Andrew Alexander.
  

  "The record: McCain backs extending the Bush-era tax cuts, including cuts for middle-class workers. He would also cut the top corporate rate to 25 percent, from the current rate of 35 percent. He has proposed closing tax loopholes for oil and gas companies. Taken together, McCain's tax cuts would amount to $3.6 trillion over ten years - a 10 percent cut - according to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center."

• Obama Spot Is Heavy on Supposition , The Washington Post (October 3, 2008) by Howard Kurtz.
  

  "The allegation that McCain's tax proposals would add $3 trillion to the national debt is attributed to a group created by the left-leaning Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution. The Obama camp attributes the cost estimate on McCain's Social Security plan to a paper by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, written by none other than Jason Furman, now Obama's economics adviser."

• Biden Focuses Only on Negatives Of McCain's Health-Coverage Plan , The Washington Post (October 3, 2008) by Michael Dobbs.
  

  "According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, the McCain proposals would result in a net benefit of $1,241 to the average taxpayer in 2009, $895 in 2013, and $386 in 2018. Taxpayers in the top quintile would be slightly worse off by 2018, but other taxpayers would be slightly ahead."

• Letter: Take off partisan blinders and it’s clear , Madison Eagle (October 3, 2008).
  

  "A thorough analysis of both candidates’ economic plans by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center has revealed that for the bottom 80 percent of the population – households with incomes under $118,000 – John McCain’s tax cuts would result in an average net savings of $200 per year, while Barack Obama’s tax cuts would amount to an average net savings of $900 per year."

• The Health Care Debate , Keloland TV (October 3, 2008).
  

  "Here's how the plans will affect you, based on reports from the Tax Policy Center and the journal Health Affairs."

• Which one has the best economic plan? , Small Business Times (October 3, 2008) By Steve Jagler, Eric Decker, and Alysha Schertz.
  

  "The table accompanying this report lists the federal tax impact of both candidates’ economic plans on individual citizens. The data was compiled by the Tax Policy Center, an independent project of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution."

• Both candidates took liberties with truth , The Seattle Times (October 3, 2008).
  

  "Taken together, the Tax Policy Center calculates that Obama's tax cuts would amount to $2.7 trillion over 10 years — a 7 percent cut."

• Presidential rivals focus on jobs report, economy , CNN.com (October 3, 2008).
  

  "According to an analysis by the independent Tax Policy Center, the tax plan Obama has proposed during the campaign would increase taxes in 2009 on the wealthiest 20 percent of households, while offering tax cuts for the other 80 percent."

• Two Dozen Reasons?To Vote Against Obama , The Evening Bulletin (October 3, 2008) Herb Denenberg.
  

  "Another wacky and unsound tax proposal of Sen. Obama's is to abolish income taxes for all senior citizens making less than $50,000. This shows Sen. Obama's radical, extremist approach as the idea has been condemned by almost everyone. Both the Brookings Institute and the Urban Institute panned the idea: "The proposal would exempt comparatively well-off, though not affluent, senior citizens from taxes and give them a benefits not generally available to working Americans." Investor's Business Daily (Aug. 13, 2008) points out that due to an array of resources seniors are now better off in many cases than their kids and grandkids. What's more the poverty rate of seniors has gone down from 35 percent in the late 1950s to about 10 percent today. This is just another reckless promise Sen. Obama tosses out to win votes and to please his far-left liberal base."

• ‘Ninety-Four’ Hits the Airwaves , MSNBC.com, FirstRead blog (October 3, 2008) by Carrie Dann and Mark Murray.
  

  "Under the candidates' tax plans, both Obama and McCain would actually be "tax cutters" to Americans making under $250,000 per year.  According to the Tax Policy Center, Obama's proposal allows for deeper cuts to low-income earners and tax hikes for those in the top income brackets; McCain would cut taxes for all income groups, with the largest decreases going to those who make over $500,000 annually."

• Healthy Debate Over Tax Credits , MSNBC.com, FirstRead blog (October 3, 2008) by Carrie Dann.
  

  "During the same exchange used in the Obama ad,  Palin called McCain's plan "budget neutral."  Per the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, McCain's health care plan would actually increase the federal deficit by $1.3 trillion over ten years, just shy of the $1.6 trillion price tag on Obama's."

• Facts Are Amiss in Obama’s New Ad From VP Debate , The Wall Street Journal, Washington Wire blog (October 3, 2008) by Susan Davis.
  

  "According to the Tax Policy Center, the plan would cost $1.3 trillion over 10 years."

• FactChecking Biden-Palin Debate , Newsweek.com (October 3, 2008) by Brooks Jackson, Viveca Novak, Lori Robertson, Joe Miller, Jess Henig and Justin Bank.
  

  "The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center estimates that McCain's plan, which at its peak would cover 5 million of the uninsured, would increase the deficit by $1.3 trillion over 10 years. Obama's plan, which would cover 34 million of the uninsured, would cost $1.6 trillion over that time period."

• Political price tags , Rocky Mountain News (October 3, 2008) by David Milstead.
  

  "Says the Tax Policy Center, a venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, "If enacted, the Obama and McCain tax plans would have radically different effects on the distribution of tax burdens in the United States."

• Corporate Taxes , NPR, Vox Politics blog (October 2, 2008) by Scott Horsley.
  

  "The best source on the distribution of tax burden is the Tax Policy Center. Bottom line: 80 percent of country gets a bigger tax break under Obama's plan. The top 20 percent get a bigger break from McCain (and especially top 5, 1, 0.1 percent)."

• Palin On Health Care , NPR, Vox Politics blog (October 2, 2008) by Julie Rovner.
  

  "UPDATE: The Urban Institute-Brookings Tax Policy Center estimates the McCain plan would cost $141 billion in 2013."

• Editorial: Obama Tax Plan: Back To Welfare? , Investor’s Business Daily (October 2, 2008).
  

  "First of all, "working families" does not include all households. Throw in singles, retirees, students and the unemployed, and the share getting some tax-related benefit is a good deal less. The Tax Policy Center, a group affiliated with the center-left Brookings Institution and Urban Institute, says only about 80% of households would get a cut."

• Congress Faces Large Financial Oversight Challenge , CQ Politics (October 2, 2008) by Joseph J. Schatz and Phil Mattingly.
  

  "It’s almost a retail operation, and you can’t constantly be coming back to some congressional board for oversight or something like that,” William Gale, director of the Brookings Institution’s economic studies program, said during an Oct. 1 discussion on the bailout package. “Mainly what’s going to happen, is Treasury is going to do it, and they’ll report back to the public now and then. But I just don’t see a strong role for oversight in all this, despite what people say."

• Financial bailout bill: Still a blank check? , The Christian Science Monitor, Global Credit Crisis blog (October 2, 2008) by Peter Grier.
  

  "It’s important to understand there’s no plan. What the legislation would do, would say to Paulson, you deal with this, we don’t know how you’re going to do it, but we’re giving you some money to deal with it,” said William Gale, Brookings director of economic studies."

• To quote Hedley Lamarr: You see, it can be done! , The Guardian (UK), Michael Tomasky’s blog (October 2, 2008) by Michael Tomasky.
  

  "Researchers at the Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center project McCain's plan would reduce the number of uninsured by 1.3 million in the first year at a cost $185 million. About 20 million people would lose their employer-sponsored coverage under McCain's plan, but 21 million would gain coverage on the individual market."

• Tax This; Tax That , Inc. magazine (October 2, 2008) by Robb Mandelbaum.
  

  "What the Experts Say: According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, most Americans would get a smaller tax cut under McCain's plan than they would under Obama's proposal. On average, only the top 20 percent of earners -- those with incomes of more than $112,000 in 2009 -- would do better under McCain. As for the centerpiece of McCain's business agenda, the center notes that "other countries have been lowering their corporate tax rate and broadening the base, and similar changes in the United States could be beneficial."

• The claims, the facts: Some inaccuracies in Palin-Biden debate , The San Jose Mercury News (October 2, 2008) by William Rohter.
  

  "The figure is based on calculations from the Obama campaign and from the non-partisan Tax Policy Center. They looked at McCain tax proposals beyond the extension of the tax cuts passed early in the Bush administration, which cost roughly $110 billion a year."

• Romney, in Boulder City, roots for McCain, Palin and Porter , Las Vegas Sun (October 2, 2008) by Michael Mishak.
  

  "Romney also hit Obama on his tax policy, saying the Democrat would raise taxes on citizens and businesses. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center however has concluded that 95 percent of families with children would get a tax break under Obama’s plan, significantly more than under McCain, although the ongoing rescue of struggling banks and financial institutions could make any new spending or tax cuts impossible."

• The Most Important Election Since 1932 , The Huffington Post (October 2, 2008) by Walter Williams and Bryan D. Jones.
  

  "McCain continues to repeat his claims even when clear evidence refutes them. He has asserted repeatedly that he would cut taxes for everyone while Barak Obama would raise most everyone's taxes. The Urban Institute- Brookings Tax Policy Center, which is the accepted source of estimates on the McCain and Obama tax plans, indicated the falseness of McCain's claim on August 25, 2008."

• Healthcare: local problems need national solution , The West Linn Tidings (October 2, 2008) by Matthew Graham.
  

  "All figures are based on a study by the Tax Policy Center, a non-partisan venture between the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution. To read the report, visit www.taxplicycenter.org."

• The Tax Issue Still Resonates , The Wall Street Journal (October 2, 2008) by Karl Rove.
  

  "So while Mr. Obama says that only the top 5% will pay higher taxes under his proposals, many voters are skeptical. Nearly three out of every four filers who'll pay higher taxes under a President Obama are small businesses, the source of most new jobs and growth. An Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center study found that 663,000 (73%) of the 912,000 filers hit by Mr. Obama's tax increases will report business income -- i.e., they are small business owners. His tax hikes will affect every worker at those enterprises."

• Obama's health plan may help more uninsured: report , The Washington Post (October 2, 2008) by Julie Steenhuysen.
  

  "Researchers at the Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center project McCain's plan would reduce the number of uninsured by 1.3 million in the first year at a cost $185 million. About 20 million people would lose their employer-sponsored coverage under McCain's plan, but 21 million would gain coverage on the individual market."

• Bam's Plans for Tax Cuts Don't Add Up , New York Post (October 2, 2008) by Charles Hurt.
  

  "The Tax Policy Center, using researchers from the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, found that Obama's tax plan would actually add to the national debt by some $3.5 trillion by 2018."

• Democrats, Taxes and Phony 'Facts' , New York Post (October 2, 2008) by L. Brent Bozell.
  

  "In 2008, reporters and columnists touting Obama are repeatedly citing numbers by something called the Tax Policy Center. You'll never hear that this is a project operated by two liberal-Democrat think tanks. The figures suggest Obama will actually cut middle-class taxes more than John McCain. That, of course, assumes that President Obama will follow his plan to the letter, and that a newly elected liberal House and Senate will rubber-stamp his alleged tax cut for "95 percent" of Americans."

• Taxing Times , Financial Planning magazine (October 1, 2008) by Michael Sisk.
  

  "Unfortunately for the mass affluent, the report states, Obama would restore the top two income tax rates to their pre-2001 levels. Obama's proposal would also reinstate some limitations on how much of a given deduction or personal exemption high-income taxpayers may take. He has stated that families making less than $75,000 will see a tax cut while families making over $250,000 will probably pay higher taxes. And for single filers, the line would likely be about $200,000. Those citizens could end up paying anywhere from several thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars more to the IRS than they do now, according to the Tax Policy Center. His policy is somewhat unclear for those families making between $75,000 and $250,000, Spectrem notes in the report."

• McCain, Obama agree: health care needs fixing , San Francisco Chronicle (October 1, 2008) by Victoria Colliver.
  

  "The Tax Policy Center, a project of the Brookings Institution and Urban Institute, estimates that Obama's plan could cost $1.6 trillion over 10 years, and that the tax-related provisions of the McCain plan would cost $1.3 trillion over the same period."

• Letter: Compare tax proposals of presidential candidates , Kennebec Journal (October 1, 2008) by Lee Sharkey.
  

  "The non-partisan Tax Policy Center has issued a report that compares the two policies. Based on their findings, the report demonstrates your average tax savings at different income levels under the two proposals."

• 34 Days Out: "A New Standard for Transparency and Accountability" , The Huffington Post (October 1, 2008) by Jesse Lee.
  

  "Altogether, [McCain] proposes more than $650 billion in tax cuts a year, much of it benefiting corporations and upper-income families." The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimated McCain's litany of tax cuts to total $5 trillion over a two-term presidency. The TaxPolicy Center, run jointly by the Brookings Institution and Urban Institute, said they would cost at least $5.7 trillion. [Wall Street Journal, 4/22/08; Bloomberg, 4/18/08."

• Attack on McCain omits planned cuts in spending -- Eye on Ohio , The Cleveland Plain Dealer, The Openers blog (October 1, 2008) by Jessica Wehrman.
  

  "The Tax Policy Center, whose data the campaign uses, actually says Obama has it wrong. According to its most recent analysis of the candidates' tax plans, McCain's plan would increase the debt by $5 trillion on top of the $2.3 trillion increase that the Congressional Budget Office forecasts for the next decade."

• Obama's 'Trillion Dollar' Spending Plan , The Washington Post, The Fact Checker blog (October 1, 2008) by Michael Dobbs.
  

  "There is clearly a significant philosophical difference between the two candidates on taxing and spending. Independent analyses show that McCain would raise less money in taxes than Obama, but he would also spend less. According to the independent Tax Policy Center, neither candidate does anything significant to curb the projected increase in the size of the national debt by trillions of dollars over the next decade."

• Obama Calls for Greater Fiscal Responsibility , The Washington Post, The Trail blog (October 1, 2008) by Perry Bacon Jr.
  

  "It's not clear if such proposals would actually reduce the deficit, and some independent analysts, including the non-partisan Tax Policy Center, have said Obama's current proposals would increase the deficit by trillions of dollars, as would Sen. John McCain's."

• Obama Casts McCain as a Big Spender , The Washington Post, The Trail blog (October 1, 2008) by Howard Kurtz.
  

  "The allegation that McCain's tax proposals would add $3 trillion to the national debt is attributed to a group created by the left-leaning Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution. The Obama camp attributes the cost estimate on McCain's Social Security plan to a paper by the Center for Budget and Policy Priories, written by none other than Jason Furman, now Obama's economics adviser."

• GOP Turns Up Heat on Obama Spending , MSNBC.com (October 1, 2008) by Carrie Dann.
  

  "Per FactCheck.org, an analysis by the Tax Policy Center shows that "McCain's proposals would raise the debt by between $5.1 trillion and $7.4 trillion over 10 years. And while McCain has promised to balance the budget by 2013, the Tax Policy Center notes that doing so would require a 25 percent reduction in federal spending. Few economists outside the McCain-Palin campaign think that is a feasible goal."

• Letter: Obama's tax plan better , Leader-Telegram (October 1, 2008) by Libby Stupak.
  

  "While listening to various speeches, I realized that we are getting incorrect information regarding the tax policies of John McCain and Barack Obama. The Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the government-sponsored Urban Institute and the nonpartisan Brookings Institute, published a paper in August titled, "An Updated Analysis of the 2008 Presidential Candidates' Tax Plans."

• Fact checking Obama's speech in La Crosse , Minnesota Public Radio (October 1, 2008) by Tom Scheck.
  

  "That is true - according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, which studied Obama's tax plan. The group said 95 percent of working families will see a income tax cut under Obama's plan."