Here are some excerpts from McCain's speech to the National Federation of Independent Businesses today:
No matter which of us wins in November, there will be change in Washington. The question is what kind of change? Will we enact the single largest tax increase since the Second World War as my opponent proposes, or will we keep taxes low for families and employers? This election offers Americans a very distinct choice about what kind of change we will have. This is especially true for the small business community. ...
Unfortunately, Senator Obama has a habit of talking down the value of our exports and trade agreements. He even proposed a unilateral re-negotiation of NAFTA -- our agreement with Canada and Mexico that accounts for 33 percent of American exports. ... If I am elected president, this country will honor its international agreements, including NAFTA, and we will expect the same of others...
And as we expand markets for Americans products, we must do more tax reform here at home. I will propose and sign into law a reform to permit the first-year expensing of new equipment and technology. We're also going to keep the low rate on capital gains, so that businesses like yours can expand and create jobs instead of just sending more of your earnings to the government. And so parents can spend and save more for their own children, I will propose to double the size of the child tax exemption. I will also propose as well a middle-class tax cut -- a phase-out of the Alternative Minimum Tax to save more than 25 million middle-class families as much as 2,000 dollars in a single year.
Another of my disagreements with Senator Obama concerns the estate tax, which he proposes to increase to a top rate of 55 percent. The estate tax is one of the most unfair tax laws on the books, and the first step to reform is to keep it predictable and keep it low. After a lifetime building up a business, and paying taxes on every dollar that business earns, that asset should not be subjected to a confiscatory tax....
Senator Obama's plans would add to the difficulties of small business in other ways, too. Currently, there are the 21.6 million sole proprietorships filing under the individual income tax. When Senator Obama talks about raising income tax rates on those making over 250,000 dollars -- that includes these businesses as well. He also proposes increases in dividend and capital gains taxes. Under Senator Obama's tax plan, Americans of every background would see their taxes rise -- seniors, parents, small business owners, and just about everyone who has even a modest investment in the market. He proposes to eliminate the Social Security earnings cap, and thereby to increase the tax on employers. He proposes to eliminate the secret ballot for union votes, and to raise the minimum wage and then index it, which is a sure way to add to your costs and to slow the creation of new jobs. You work hard in small businesses to grow and to create new jobs and opportunities for others -- and the federal government shouldn't make your work any harder.
And the Obama response:
John McCain is adopting the Bush health care plan as his model. Take the speech he's giving today to the National Federation of Independent Business. The number one concern of that group's members is the skyrocketing cost of health care. But Senator McCain doesn't have a comprehensive plan to control rising costs. Instead, the centerpiece of his plan is eliminating tax breaks for employers who provide health care. Well, the group he's addressing today did a survey to see what their members thought of that idea, and more than 70 percent opposed it.
The fact is, the Bush-McCain health care plan isn't designed to help small businesses. It's designed for folks who are already healthy and wealthy enough to afford health care at any price.
Instead of guaranteeing coverage for every American, Senator McCain's plan could put Americans' coverage at risk by shaking up the employer-based system that most Americans depend on. Instead of solving our health care crisis, Senator McCain's plan could make it worse, and that's a plan we can't afford.
