Tuesday 4 November 2008

Economic plans of John McCain

Economic plans of John McCain


4 Nov, 2008, 1716 hrs IST, REUTERS


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Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama this week unveiled new plans to head off a recession and help boost economic growth as government officials cope with a financial crisis that threatens economies around the world. Here is a summary of their competing plans.

Republican John McCain proposed a $52.5 billion plan that would:

• Use $300 billion of the $700 billion financial rescue package recently enacted to buy troubled mortgages and replace them with manageable fixed-rate mortgages.
• Reduce taxes on the first $50,000 of withdrawals from IRA and 401(k) retirement accounts to 10 percent for the next two years. Currently withdrawals at retirement are taxed at regular income tax rates which range from 10 percent to 35 percent.
• Suspend rules that require retirees to begin withdrawals from retirement accounts six months after they reach the age of 70. The delay would allow retirees to ride out the current market crisis and stock market decline.
• Increase the amount of capital losses from the sale of stocks and other assets that can be written off against ordinary income to $15,000 from $3,000.
• Reduce the top tax rate on long term capital gains, currently at 15 percent, to 7.5 percent for two years.

Exempt unemployment benefits from taxes for two years.

Source: EconomicTimes

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