US President Barack Obama hounded Republican US presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Saturday, saying his wealthy rival would pay only 1 percent in taxes on his vast wealth under a plan authored by his running mate, US Representative Paul Ryan.
Obama escalated his effort to use the pick of the conservative Republican congressman last week to drive votes away from Romney in swing states, including New Hampshire, where he was campaigning on Saturday.
“The centerpiece of my opponent’s entire economic plan is a new US$5 trillion tax cut, a lot of it going to the wealthiest Americans,” Obama said. “His new running mate, Congressman Ryan, he put forward a plan that would let governor Romney pay less than 1 percent in taxes each year, and here’s the kicker — he expects you to pick up the tab.”
The president is demanding that Romney, a former venture capitalist, release more than the two years of personal tax returns he has already promised, and paints his rival as the epitome of a society tilted toward the rich.
On Thursday, Romney insisted that he had always paid at least 13 percent in taxes, but that figure could still be politically damaging because it is much lower than what most middle class Americans pay.
Romney, estimated to be worth about US$250 million, has his income taxed as investment earnings rather than as an annual salary, hence the lower rate, complicating his campaign to deny Obama a second term on Nov. 6.
In his budget proposal, Ryan would eliminate double taxation on interest, capital gains or dividends, reasoning that greater savings would lead to higher productivity and more investment.
However, Romney has said he would keep taxes on capital gains, interests and dividends at the current rate, but eliminate them entirely for those earning less than US$200,000 a year.
Obama cited a study by the bipartisan Tax Policy Center that said that Romney’s policies would result in middle class families paying an extra US$2,000 a year, while the wealthiest Americans would get a big tax cut.
However, the Romney campaign said that after the release of new figures showing a rise in the unemployment rates in 44 states, it was not surprising the president was launching another attack.
“The fact is President Obama wants to raise taxes on private investment and job creators, which will lead to higher unemployment and fewer jobs,” Romney campaign spokesman Ryan Williams said. “The Romney-Ryan plan eliminates taxes for the middle class on interest, dividends and capital gains and implements pro-growth policies to deliver more jobs and more take-home pay for middle-class families.”
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
‘POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE’: Leo Varadkar said he was ‘no longer the best person’ to lead the nation and was stepping down for political, as well as personal, reasons Leo Varadkar on Wednesday announced that he was stepping down as Ireland’s prime minister and leader of the Fine Gael party in the governing coalition, citing “personal and political” reasons. Pundits called the surprise move, just 10 weeks before Ireland holds European Parliament and local elections, a “political earthquake.” A general election has to be held within a year. Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin, leader of Fianna Fail, the main coalition partner, said Varadkar’s announcement was “unexpected,” but added that he expected the government to run its full term. An emotional Varadkar, who is in his second stint as prime minister and at
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia