From the AJC Ad Watch on Tuesday:

ELECTION 2004: AD WATCH
An occasional look at the credibility of campaign ads
Anna Varela - Staff
Tuesday, October 19, 2004

'Johnny Isakson's Tax Plan: You Pay a 23% Sales Tax'
Denise Majette's campaign says the ad is running statewide.

Sponsor
Denise Majette for Senate.

The ad
The ad shows Majette standing in a kitchen, holding a copy of legislation sponsored by Republican opponent Johnny Isakson. The DeKalb County Democrat tells viewers: "He wants a new 23 percent sales tax on nearly everything you buy --- cars, groceries, even prescription drugs --- 23 percent. Does that sound fair to you? And corporations end up paying nothing."

Accuracy
Isakson was one of 54 co-sponsors of the House version of the Fair Tax Act of 2003. Majette's ad does not mention that the bill would repeal the federal income tax, estate and gift taxes, and that it would abolish the IRS. She is correct that it would enact a new national sales tax on goods and services, and that it would not tax corporations on goods and services that they buy for business purposes, according to Clint Stretch, director of tax policy for accounting firm Deloitte & Touche.

The bill also states that property purchased for investment purposes would not be taxed. Stretch said the measure's language would actually create a sales tax rate of 29.9 percent. Many current tax benefits, such as the income tax deduction on mortgages, would disappear. Used items, including used cars, would not be taxed, said Stretch, who has co-authored studies on tax reform.

The bill also would create a Family Consumption Allowance, which would provide people with monthly checks meant to offset the higher sales taxes. The allowance is intended to keep people below the poverty level from being harmed.

Isakson's political consultant, Heath Garrett, said the ad is unfair because it doesn't address the bill's elimination of the income tax. He called the ad "fundamentally false and intellectually dishonest. In Johnny's 30 years of public service, he has never voted for a tax increase."

Kudos to the AJC for printing this, now they just need to put it on the front page of a section and not bury it on page B4!

Labels: politics